


Yuurei Yashiki no Korosare Shounen

by Envytastic



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Ghosts, M/M, Murder, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-26
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2017-12-30 13:30:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1019194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Envytastic/pseuds/Envytastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yami is dared to go in a alleged haunted house. Despite his fear, he enteres anyway. There he encounters the crying and sobbing ghost of a young boy. Yami flees but can't get the little spirit out of his mind. Despite his screaming mind, he returns. The spirit begs Yami to help him. Complete!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Japan’s Most Awkward Teenager

_Riiiiiiiing_

That was the sound of the obnoxious school bell. The most hated object of the student body. It meant that the long day of boring classes and endless blathering of the teachers would start. The students of Domino high started to go to their respective class as soon as they heard the school bell.

Jounouchi Katsuya, a student who attended Domino High, was dropping himself on his desk chair, sighing as he saw that the seat in front of him was empty. Again. The classroom filled up eventually, even the two biggest delinquents in the school arrived on time. Yet the desk in front of Jounouchi was empty.

The teacher walked in and put his briefcase near the stand.

“Raise.” He called out. The students all stood up. “Bow.” The students obeyed and bowed for their teacher. “Sit.” He said. Again they did this. It was a daily ritual, so they were used to it. “I will now do the attendance.” He announced. “Akamori Fumiko.”

“Hai.” Said a girl in the middle row as she rose up her hand.

“Umaii Ringo.”

“Hai.” Said a different girl from the first row.

The teacher continued the attendance. “Surumi Tasuku.”

“Hai.” The boy from the last row in the back called after raising his hand.

“Sennen Yami.”

The teacher sighed. It wasn’t like this was something new. He didn’t even repeat the name. Yamada-sensei took a breath to call the next name on the list but was interrupted by the door slamming open. There at the threshold, stood a short boy with blood red eyes and the wildest hair imaginable. He was panting, he had a slice of half-burned toast between his teeth and something with his attire wasn’t quite right.

“How nice of you to join us Sennen-san. Please try to be on time the next time.” The teacher said with sarcasm laced in his voice.

“Sorry sensei, I missed the bus and….” He stopped as he had forgotten about his piece of toast, and his precious breakfast fell to the floor as he opened his mouth to speak. The expression on Yami’s face was that one of a kicked wet puppy.

His classmates sniggered at the event.

Then the teacher noticed the flaws of the boy’s attire. “Sennen-san, I suggest you go to the restrooms and fix your trousers.” The teacher said as he readjusted his glasses. “What is wrong with my pants?” Yami asked confused as he looked down to his school uniform’s trousers.

Instead of the usual button and zipper, he saw two butt-pockets. Yami twisted his spine as much as he could to see the back of his pants. Indeed, he was wearing his pants backwards. To make it worse, he was wearing his Black Magician boxers. They were a light purple, bordering a pinkish color, with small Black Magicians scattered around.

The boy blushed and covered his exposed underwear with his two hands. No wonder his pants kept falling down when he was running to school. Shit, that meant that some people had seen his underwear! Yami wanted to slap himself, but had to uncover his hands from his underwear if he wanted to, so he didn’t.

“Just, fix it Sennen-san.” His teacher said a bit exasperated. Yami grinned with a blush and ran to the nearest boy’s restrooms. The class was now roaring with laughter. Jounouchi was shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose but he still could not help the upturning of the edges of his lips in a smile.

“Silence!” Yamada-sensei called to the class. The laughter lowered into sniggers before it died to gasps of airs. “Well then, now that that’s over with, I will continue the attendance.” He marked down Yami as present but noted that the boy was late as well. He then called out the next name on the list.

\-----

Yami closed the lid of the toilet and sat down on the cold porcelain surface. It did not feel very pleasant; the cold seeped through his boxers to his butt. Yami did not like a cold butt. But the boy knew that if he changed his pants while standing up, he would somehow trip and fall. He was just clumsy like that.

After pulling off his shoes, he took of his pants completely and put them back on, correctly this time. At least he did put on a pair this time….

Yami put his shoes back on and exited the stall. He looked in the mirror of the boy’s restroom. His hair was slightly tousled and his uniform shirt and jacket were a bit sloppy since he threw it all on in a hurry. The teenager quickly fixed his hair and straightened out his uniform. Before leaving for class again, he double checked if his zipper was closed up.

The boy exited the restrooms and walked calmly to the classroom. The teacher was already done with the attendance and had already started his lecture. Yami opened the door slowly and slipped inside. The teacher glanced at him once but did not stop talking. He slipped through the gaps to his desk and sat down.

The prodding in his shoulder made him turn around, to look at his best friend.

“At least you remembered to put one on this time.” Jounouchi whispered to him.

“I know.” Yami whispered back.

“Sennen-san, Jounouchi-san. I would appreciate it if you would not disturb my class. Especially not after that trifle earlier. Yami chuckled while scratching his cheek sheepishly, it was his nervous habit.

“Sorry sensei.” The two young boys said.

Some of his classmates snorted and stifled their laughs with their hands. The teacher ignored them and continued his teacher. They would shut up eventually. Yami took out his notebooks and the book for his literature class and started jotting down everything the teacher told them.

Yami Sennen, sixteen years old, junior at Domino High. He had to be the most awkward teenager in whole Japan. Nevertheless his embarrassing moments, Yami was not bullied. No, on the contrary, he had to be one of the most popular teenagers in Domino High. If Yami landed in an awkward situation again, he would laugh and joke along with them.

Yami’s body speaks for itself. He was thin but was quite muscled as well, with lean muscles. Though he was vertically challenged (which he actually did not really mind), he still attracted the attention of a lot of girls. He would turn them down, telling them he would probably step on their feet or trip and throw a plate of steaming hot food in their face.

Only Jounouchi knew why Yami would reject all the girls. The crazy-haired teenager swings for the same team.

Jounouchi had promised it would stay between the two of them. Yami was relieved to know that he could trust Jounouchi. Yami might’ve been popular; he had his fair share of haters as well. They thought Yami was faking all his clumsiness, to attract attention. Yami would just roll his eyes and ignore them if they would bother him.

The bell rang, signaling the students that it was lunchtime. Yami and Jounouchi got up, walking out of the classroom to buy lunch. Yami never had time in the mornings to cook his lunch and Jounouchi was just not meant to be in the kitchen.

The two joined the lunch line and talked softly among themselves. The topic of their conversation was mostly Duel Monsters. Both Yami and Jounouchi were obsessed with the card game.

“I was shocked, I tell you. I open the booster pack and there it was. The Winged God Dragon of Ra!” Yami said with glee. Jounouchi’s eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets. “No. Freaking. Way.”

“Yes freaking way.”

“Dude, you have to show me!”

“I will, but I don’t have it with me. It’s too precious.”

“Yeah, knowing you it’d probably get wet, burned or crumpled.”

Yami pouted. “It would not.”

“Remember the Black Magician?” Jounouchi said with a raised eyebrow.

Yami let out a forlorn sigh as he remembered that event. He was about to summon his strongest and most beloved monster in the whole game. The Black Magician. Just as he wanted to slap the card onto the duel disk, the card slipped from between his fingers and fluttered to the floor. In a frantic attempt to catch it before it fell to the floor, he accidently grabbed it so that the card folded in two. There was now an ugly folding line visible there. Yami cried that day.

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to rub salt on the wound.” Yami muttered. Jounouchi chuckled and wrapped his arms around the neck of the shorter boy. Jounouchi rubbed the scalp of Yami with his knuckles.

“Jounouchi quit it!” Yami whined. The blond boy let go of the shorter one and grinned. Yami growled with a manly pout and tried to fix his hair.

“Yami!” Came a gruff voice from behind them. The two turned to see the two delinquents of the school shoving aside the people who were before them and making their way to the two.

“You remembered to put on pants this time!” The one with the white hair yelled. Yami rolled his eyes. “Very funny Bakura.” Yami said with a roll of his eyes. The long white haired male slapped the back of the smaller male a couple times while laughing.

There was one time, where Yami in his haste, had completely forgotten to put in his pants. He had arrived to class panting and in his boxers (not embarrassing ones to his relief). The class had laughed so hard that the teacher had a very hard time to shut them all up. The girls were all giggling and blushing at the sight, for Yami had sexy legs. Yami was forced to wear his gym shorts for the rest of the day.

“So, any news?” Bakura asked with his arm around Yami’s shoulder. “Yeah, Yami here got the Winged God Dragon of Ra.” Jounouchi said. Marik, the platinum blond, spiky haired teenager behind Bakura gasped. “No fucking way!” He screamed. Yami winced at the loud voice of the tanned teen.

“Will you keep it down!” Yami hissed harshly. He did not know why or how he befriended the two delinquents of their school. It just… happened.

“You have to give it to me!” Marik said. “What? No!” Yami retorted. No way in hell would he give his rarest card just like that. “What do you want? I’ll give you ten bucks.” The three looked at Marik with a deadpan expression. Marik growled and fished out his wallet from his butt-pocket.

“I can offer you twenty bucks and twenty five cents.” Marik said. “Last offer.”

“Offer denied.”

The tanned teen whined and put his wallet away. “Mean Yami.” He muttered. The white haired male ignored his now sulking best friend and turned back to Yami. “I can’t believe how much disaster you attract, yet can be so lucky at times.”

Yami shrugged his shoulders. “Life can be weird like that.”

“Hey guys, it’s our turn.” Jounouchi announced as it was their turn. The students who were pushed back dared not to complain, since Bakura and Marik were notorious for beating people up. Badly.

The four purchased their meals and walked back to their classroom, Marik bothering Yami constantly for the Winged God Dragon of Ra card. Yami would not budge. Marik gave up (for now) as they reentered the classroom and sat at Yami’s and Jounouchi’s desk together.

“So, have you guys heard about the haunted house just at the outskirts of Domino?” Bakura asked before he took a big bite out of his sandwich. Both Yami and Jounouchi stopped chewing their food and looked at one another.

They swallowed their bites and asked at the same time. “Haunted house?”

Marik nodded eagerly. “There was someone died there and the soul could never find rest. So it kills everyone who enters.” He told. Yami and Jounouchi looked a bit skeptical. “That has to be a rumor.” The blond said after he gulped.

Jounouchi was not a fan of horror and the occult.

“It might be, it might not be.” Bakura said. “We want to go there in the weekend for a test of courage. You two are going to tag along, whether you like it or not.” Bakura said with a smirk.

Jounouchi was sweating visibly by now. Yami was paling slightly. He too was not a huge fan of the occult.

“You see I uhm….”Jounouchi trailed off. “See I have this thing…. On the weekend… and I really can’t cancel… for the third time….”

He had not convinced Bakura and Marik at all. “You’re coming.” Bakura stated. Jounouchi huffed, he would have to come up with an excuse soon.

The bell rang once again, signaling the end of the lunch period. The four boys wolfed down the rest of their lunch before their next teacher came in.

All the students returned to their respective seats and the teacher began the lesson. This was math, Yami’s most hated class ever. He started zoning out on the teacher and ripped a piece of paper from his notebook. He quickly scribbled something on it and looked at the teacher.

Great, his back was turned to the class. Yami threw the note to Jounouchi behind him and waited for the sound of the rustling of paper being unfolded.

Jounouchi picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it.

_‘Do you wanna go to Yamaoka’s shop after school?’_

Yami could hear the scribbling of a pen behind him and before he knew it the piece of paper was handed back to him.

_‘Sure, you gonna buy another booster pack?’_

Yami nodded instead of writing an answer. “Nice.” Jounouchi whispered. The teacher started writing problems on the blackboard so Yami forced himself to pay attention. Still, he could not get the haunted house out of his head. He had a bad feeling, and when Yami had a bad feeling, something bad usually did happen.

The teenager thought of ways to get out of the test of courage but like Jounouchi, he could not come up with anything. Yami sighed softly as he slumped in his chair. For the first time in his life, he did not look forward to the weekend.

“Okay students, class is over for today. Remember that the due date for assignment five and six is next week Monday. Have a nice weekend.” The teacher told before she left.

Yami raised his head from his desk and watched the teacher leave. His fellow classmates were packing up and leaving one by one as well. So Yami did the same, he shoved all his books and notes in his schoolbag and stood up. Jounouchi was already waiting for him at the school gates.

The two walked peacefully to the store. It wasn’t that far from school, only a ten minute walk.

“Which booster pack do you want to buy?” Jounouchi asked to break the silence. “I don’t know, I want to buy another battle pack to see if I can get Osiris or Obelisk, but then again there is some new booster pack as well that I want to try out.” Yami told.

“Ah, first world problems.” Jounouchi mocked. Yami laughed and punched him in the arm. Yami ran away and Jounouchi gave chase. Later, Yami had his hand against the wall, his other hand was on his knee as he was bend over slightly and panting to get his breath back. Jounouchi was in a similar position and panting.

When the two had calmed down their breaths, Yami pushed open the door of the little shop. The small bell above the door rang to alert the shopkeeper for new customers.

“Yamaoka-san?” Yami called as he entered, Jounouchi following.

There was some shuffling heard and the door to the back opened, showing an elderly man in his late sixties. “Ah Yami, Katsuya, my boys. How nice of you to come again.” He said with his sweet withering aging voice.

“It’s a pleasure always Yamaoka-san.” Jounouchi replied. The man chuckled and waved for them to come closer. Yami and Jounouchi walked to the counter and waited expectantly for the man to tell them about the newest cards and booster packs.

“We have a new starter deck.” The man told as he took a box from behind the counter. The box was different shades of light purple, it had ‘starter deck’ written in yellow at the bottom and the display showed a white card with purple monster on it.

“Junk Monster?” Jounouchi read the title of the card. “Well that doesn’t sound strong.” The blond boy sounded very disappointed. “And why is the card white?” Yami asked. The color of the card represents the type of card and he had never seen a white card before.

“Ah yes, there a new type of monsters. They are called synchro summons. To summon them, you also need tuner monsters. They are of course included in the starter deck” The man explained.

“It sounds stupid.” Jounouchi murmured. “Don’t be like that Jou, I’m sure they can be strong as well.” He then turned to the elderly man. “Yamaoka-san, you had another new booster pack, correct?” Yami asked. The man nodded. “But I think it is for the best if you take the starter deck first since it’s full of tuner and synchro monsters.”

“Okay, let me see.” Yami said as he started rubbing his chin. That was his habit when he was deep in thought. ‘ _How much money do I have left? Okay, I still have to pay a couple bills and if I subtract that… I should have enough… but then I won’t have much to do groceries with…. Oh well, it’ll be instant ramen for me then….’_

Yami stopped rubbing his chin. “I would like a booster pack of War of the Giants and the starter deck then.”

“Very well. Ah, did you get some nice cards last time?” The old man asked as he gathered the items. Yami’s face lit up at that. “Yes! I got Ra!” He said enthusiastically. The man looked at him with wide eyes. “Wow, really?” He asked. “Never would I have dreamed that Ra would be in my shop!” The man chuckled.

Yami laughed too as he received the bag from the man. It was told that only one copy of each of the Egyptian God cards was printed. And Yami had one of them. “I know, I was so happy when I found it!”

“I can imagine.” The man looked at the clock. “It’s almost closing time, would you two like to join me up for some tea?” He asked the two teenagers. “Sure, I mean I’m not very busy.”

“Yeah, my old man is probably out drinking somewhere.”

“Alright then.” He handed Jounouchi a set of keys. “Could you lock up for me?” The blond boy grabbed the key and went to the door. He flipped the open sign to ‘closed’ and locked the door. This wasn’t the first time they did this.

They then followed the man upstairs. Like usual, the living room was filled with Egyptian artifacts. The man had a slight obsession with them, hence why he opened the shop. The card game had an Egyptian origin.

The Jounouchi sat down on the snuggly old couch as Yami and the man went to the kitchen to make the tea. As the hot beverage was done, the three sat down and talked about Duel Monsters. He opened the starter deck and looked at the cards and read their descriptions. It wasn’t too bad, there were some weak monsters but there were real strong ones as well. He was reading the manual on how to play the synchro and explaining it to Jounouchi.

Before they all knew it, it was getting really late. Yami and Jounouchi had dueled against each other, Yami with his new starter deck and had won. Jounouchi was now planning on buying it as well. They said their goodbyes to the elder man and to each other and went their separate ways.

Yami opened the door to his house, leaving off all the light since he knew the way anyways. He made it to his room and turned on the lights. It was a mess, but then again, he was a teenager. His room was supposed to be a mess.

He changed into something more comfortable and plopped down on his bed. His phone vibrated so he fished it out of his discarded pants’ pocket and flipped it open.

_‘We’re going tomorrow night, me and Marik will pick you two up from your house.’_

The sender was Bakura of course. Yami placed his cellphone on his nightstand and covered his eyes with his arm. He really wondered how he was still friends with the two. Oh yeah, it started with Duel Monsters, Bakura and Marik had almost beaten him. He could appreciate good duelists. The he remembered, he still hadn’t opened the booster pack!

He hopped from his bed and took the booster pack from the bag. The pack was silver and had Obelisk on it. He carefully pulled it open en pulled out the cards. Eh, common, common, rare, common….

Yami couldn’t believe his eyes.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story was inspired by a vocaloid song called Yuurei Yashiki no Kubitsuri Shoujo. This is translated to The Hanged Girl of the Haunted House. I really love the song and imagined it to be puzzleshipping. This way, more and more ideas came into mind. I always wanted to write a murder/mystery story.
> 
> Usually, I always post my stories on fanfiction.net before posting them here, but since I have a small amount of followers there, I don't want to disappoint them by not posting something for a long while. I work very irregular and you might not hear from me for over a couple months, simply because I have started a different story. I have six chapters finished for this story but kinda stuck somewhere in the seventh chapter.
> 
> I usually only post stories that are complete. But a couple of my friends told me that this is one of my best stories so far so I decided to post this anyway. I was struggling with a title, so the title "Just Please Save Me!" is a line from a hardcore song I enjoy. But I found the title lame... so at the end I changed it to Yuurei Yashiki no Kororare Shounen, after the song this story was inspired by. It translates to 'The murdered boy of the haunted house'
> 
> Also for the duel monster cards, instead of the english titles, I have used the Japanese-English names. It's not all about Duel Monsters, really. They're just needed for the plot.
> 
> I don't think these have been BETA'd... So I apologize if there was some inconvenience...
> 
> Also, about Yami. Most people write him as if he is absolutely perfect. Well he is not. Some may think he is out of character here, but I think I wrote him very well here. This is and Alter Universe after all....
> 
> *edit*  
> Reposted the chapters that have been BETA'd


	2. Test of Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yami and co go to the haunted house.

The sunshine shone through his window and into his sleeping face. Yami forced his eyes shut tightly before he blinked a couple of times to get used to the light. He sat up and closed the curtains. The harsh light annoyed him so early in the morning. He glanced at his alarm clock to see that it was actually near noon.

He really couldn’t blame himself. He had been so excited it was incredibly hard to fall asleep. Yami fished out his collector’s binder from under his bed and opened it to the last page. There it was, next to the Winged God Dragon of Ra.

Sky Dragon of Osiris.

Yami caressed the card through the sheet where the card was stored. He was very clumsy and awkward, but his luck was something else. He couldn’t wait to tell Jounouchi, Bakura, Marik and Yamaoka-san.

He was going to take Bakura out to a fancy dinner if he got Obelisk as well. Yeah as if that would happen. How big was the chance? The booster packs were sold worldwide.

Yami slapped the binder shut and shoved it back under his bed. Then he stretched his arms, hearing the bones of his spine, shoulders and arms give a satisfying crack. He relaxed his arms again and hopped from his bed, kicking away discarded and dirty clothes which were in his way.

He made a simple omelet breakfast and ate in silence. There wasn’t anyone to talk to anyways. Yami lived alone. His mother passed away during his birth and his father passed away when he was fourteen years old. He had been living on his own since then. His house first belonged to his great grandfather’s and then his grandfather’s. It was passed onto his own father and finally to him. In the years, the mortgage was completely paid off so he was lucky to not have to pay that. Otherwise he would never be able to afford to live on his own and he detested the idea of a foster family.

With the help of school, he had somehow convinced child protective services that he was able to live on his own. Every now and then someone would come over unannounced to see how he was doing. That reminded him, he should probably start cleaning up in case one of them popped up.

After he was done eating he cleaned up the piled dishes. Afterwards, Yami tidied up the living room. Throwing away empty snack packages, putting away a couple blankets and pillows and vacuuming the floor. All that was left was the bathroom and his bedroom. He left the bathroom for a different day and started gathering up his clothes, deciding to wash his school uniform as well while he was at it.

He was kind of glad he had decided to clean up, there was hardly anything left for him to wear. Before he turned on the washing machine, he filled up the bathtub. After that was done, he took off his clothes and threw them in the ancient washing machine as well before turning it on.

The machine started rattling as it worked. Yami slipped into the tub and relaxed as the hot water eased his muscles. He loved his bathtub. The boy could stay in it for hours.

But he did not have that much time. He got out after thirty minutes, his skin had gotten all wrinkly. The machine was still washing away so he paid it no attention as he left the bathroom to his own room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

His bedroom was fairly large. He had moved into his own father’s room after the man had passed away. He used to complain that the house was too small, that he wanted his own room. When his grandparents were still alive, they lived in the two roomed house together. His grandmother and grandfather shared a room and he shared one with his father.

But now, the small house was so empty and he felt lonely sometimes.

He put on a fresh pair of boxers, some jeans and a simple black shirt, throwing the wet towel in the hamper. He made his bed and vacuumed his room. When he was done, he heard the beeping of the machine, telling him it was finished.

He hung up the clothes on the clothesline he had in his small backyard. The weather was sunny, but it was getting colder and colder out. Autumn was coming after all. The sky was clear and there were no clouds in sight so he thought it was safe to hang them up.

Just as he attached the last clothespin, he heard the doorbell. Checking the time on his cellphone, he saw that it was way too early for Jounouchi to come. He closed the sliding door to the backyard and went to the front door.

The expression on his face fell immediately as he saw through the peephole who it was, that was standing on the porch. With gritted teeth he opened the door.

“Good afternoon Yoshida-san. To what do I owe you this visit?” He asked in his fakest friendly voice.

“Ah Sennen-kun, I see you’re still alive. That is a good.” The woman smiled as she stepped inside.

“Sure, come in.” Yami muttered low so that she couldn’t hear.

The woman looked around. He was so happy he decided to clean up. “Well, it seems the house is nice and clean.” She looked at the bedrooms and the bathroom before she walked into the kitchen. “All right, it’s good that it’s clean.” She then opened the fridge.

“Can you explain to me why it is near empty?”

“Oh uhm… I was planning on doing groceries just before you came in.” He said after some quick thinking. Thanks to this woman, Yami had become a pro in lying.

“I see.”

They walked into the living room, Yami following her closely. He did not trust her enough to let her go around the house alone. She sat down and so did Yami. “How are your grades?” She asked.

“Good.”

“Elaborate.”

Yami sighed and rolled his eyes. “My English is good, P.E. is good, literature is good. My chemistry and economics are average.” Yami told.

“What about math?”

“Below average.” Yami said with disdain.

Yoshida hummed and wrote it all down on her notepad. “And why is that?” She pressed.

“Because it’s hard.”

“Well, maybe if you went to a foster home like I first suggested-”

She was cut off as Yami stood up from his chair. “Having parents, won’t make me understand math more, that is just ridiculous.”

“Calm down Yami.” She said and sighed. “I will let you pass this time as well. However, next time I come, I would like to see a filled fridge with healthy food.” She said. Yami just nodded. He hoped she would not visit for a little while. Her visits were very inconsistent. She could leave him alone for a couple months and sometimes came twice a month.

Yoshida was writing all her findings down and prepared to leave when the doorbell rang again. Yami left, keeping an eye on the woman as he opened the door.

“Yo.” Greeted his blond friend.

“Hey, you’re early.” Yami greeted back.

“For what?” Asked the woman. As soon as Jounouchi saw the woman he wrapped his arm around Yami’s shoulders. “For studying. We were gonna have some dinner then start on our school project. But I couldn’t wait so I came early.” Jounouchi said with eagerness on his face.

“Very good!” She said happily.

The two males smiled at her too. “All right then. I will be taking my leave.” She said and left. The grin on their faces dropped as they started laughing. Jounouchi was a very believable liar. “Seriously, you coming early to study? I think that would be a sign of the apocalypse.” Yami said in between his laughs.

“What was she doing here anyway?” Jounouchi asked. “Oh, just checking up. I need to do some grocery shopping soon though.” Yami answered.

The two of them plopped down on the couch in the living room. “But seriously dude, I don’t want to go to that haunted house.” Jounouchi’s voice was filled with despair. Only Yami knew that Jounouchi was truly afraid of horror things. The blond knew the other two would never let him live it down if he came out running and screaming.

“Yeah, me neither but Bakura and Marik will force us one way or another.”

“I know!” Jounouchi suddenly stood up. “Do you have chalk?”

“Chalk?” Yami asked confused. Why would he have chalk?

“Cause I once heard somewhere that you can get a fever by eating chalk!”

Yami punched Jounouchi’s shoulder. “I’m not gonna eat chalk! Besides, I don’t have any.” Jounouchi let out something similar to a whimper and sat back down.

The blond sat in silence as he was thinking of more ways to avoid the test of courage. “What if I were to break my leg?” He suggested. Yami just stared at him. “Are you seriously so desperate to break your leg?” Yami asked.

“Yes.” The blond didn’t even hesitate.

Yami sighed and shook his head. “You are hopeless. I am not letting you break your leg so I don’t have to hear your constant whining.” Yami said. “But you’re my best friend, you are supposed to take care of me when I’m in need of care!” Jounouchi retorted.

“No.” Yami said in such a tone that Jounouchi could not argue against it.

“Fine.”

“Oh come on Jounouchi. It’s probably just an abandoned old house. Nothing haunted. Not all abandoned things are haunted.” Yami said to try and calm down his friend. “Besides, if Bakura and Marik pull something we will make them pay.”

Jounouchi sighed. “I’m hungry, you got anything to eat?” He asked. Food always made him feel better. “Yeah, I’ll fix something.” Yami said as he stood up and walked to the kitchen

He fixed a quick instant ramen dinner for himself and Jounouchi.

“Thank buddy.” Jounouchi said as he started slurping the noodles. “You’re welcome.”

Ten minutes after they were done eating, the doorbell rang again. “That must be them.” Yami guessed. He stood up and opened the door. Like he had expected, it was Bakura and Marik.

“Let’s go!” Marik said, pulling Yami out of his house, not giving him a chance to put on his shoes. Yami yanked his arm out of Marik’s grip. He returned to his house to grab his keys and put on shoes. Jounouchi was putting on his as well.

“It’s not too late to break my leg.” He whispered.

“Shut up.” Yami whispered back, a bit harshly. Jounouchi huffed and closed the door behind him. Yami locked up and the four walked to a nearby parked car. Marik unlocked the door and got in.

“Hey wait, who’s car is this?” Yami demanded. “My sister’s.” Marik answered. Jounouchi and Yami stared at the two with their mouth’s gaping.

“WHAT?!” Yami yelled. Marik winced at the loud scream. “Keep it down! We don’t want to get caught!” Bakura whispered harshly. “Exactly! If I get caught for joyriding Yoshida will surely get me to a foster family!” Yami whispered back just as harsh, maybe even harsher.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’ve done it a gazillion times and never got caught.”

 “Don’t jinx it!”

“Just get in.” Bakura growled. Yami was unsure but he could not leave Jounouchi behind. “If we get caught I will hunt you down.” Yami muttered as he got in and slammed the door shut.

It was just as Marik had told, he could drive the car really well. The ride to the house was a bit on the long side. They stopped just in the outskirts of the city after driving for about twenty minutes.

The platinum blond parked the car in the driveway of the house. The four got out and looked at the house. The windows were boarded shut, the paint was chipped and faded, and the front yard was overgrown with weeds.

“This is it!” Bakura announced as he twirled around. The white haired male, unlike Yami and Jounouchi, loved the occult. He stopped his spinning and regarded the other three.

“The goal is simple, we each go into the house, into the bedroom where the guy was murdered and take something back with us. Everything is fine, as long as it’s from the room. Bonus points if you bring back the murder weapon.” He explained with a grin.

“There was someone murdered here?!” Jounouchi squeaked out.

Marik and Bakura laughed and Yami just looked at the house. “Yep, About forty years ago. I thought I already told that?” Bakura answered. “No, you only said someone died.” Yami answered for him.

“Oh died, murdered, the same. But since you pussies are so scared, I will go first.” Bakura declared. The white haired male didn’t wait for his friends’ response and strutted to the front door and opened it.

“On the other hand, me and Marik have been here before and know what’s in the bedroom. So to know you two do not cheat.” He said looking between Yami and Jounouchi. “One of you two should go first.” The grin on Bakura’s face was pure evil.

Jounouchi flinched visibly. So to safe his friends ass, Yami volunteered to go first. “I’ll go.” He said. Marik and Bakura were sniggering as Yami entered the house. He ignored them. A strong wind slammed the door shut and trapped Yami in the house. He turned to reopen the door but saw to his dismay that the handle was missing.

The teenager gulped and slowly made his way into the living room of the abandoned house. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet. The house was dusty and filled with cobwebs. He had tried to see if the lights would work but they didn’t. He didn’t bring a flashlight so he used the only substitute he could think of. His cellphone’s camera’s flash.

One thing he noticed as soon as the room was lit up, was that the furniture was outdated. There was a television with the fat back, one of the oldest computers he had ever seen and a gramophone. One of the windows in the living room was broken and the wind that went through made an eerie whispering voice, which made a shiver run down his spine.

He ignored the feeling and continued exploring the alleged haunted house. He made it to the kitchen. A couple of mice ran by as he caused a small disturbance but that didn’t scare him. Nothing weird here. Deciding that the bedrooms were probably upstairs, he wasted no time in climbing the stairs. He was careful though.

The wood was rotten and he was afraid his foot would go through if he stepped on them too hard. But he made it to the upper level harmless. The first bedroom he went into was fairy tidy. Of course it was dusty, but the bed was made, there were no clothes littering on the floor and the curtains were closed. He opened the closet door and saw that it was full of moth eaten clothes.

Not thinking this to be the murder scene, he closed the closet and exited the room, going in the next one. This one, unlike the previous room, was one big mess. The drapes were ripped, a lamp was on the floor in pieces near the nightstand, the duvet on the bed was hanging half on the floor and there were some clothes and toys.

He opened up the closet like in the previous room and saw that this one was filled with smaller clothes, probably that one of a child.  With the toys on the floor, this must’ve been the room of a child. Yami shone the flashlight to the bed and gasped at what he saw.

The mattress was stained with a red liquid. Yami was over the shock fairly fast though.

“Probably fake blood Bakura and Marik have put there.” He muttered. So this was the crime scene then. He bent down to pick up a toy when something else caught his eye. It was a framed picture. He picked it up but could not see the image for it was covered with dust.

Yami sucked in a breath to blow it off the frame but stopped when he heard sobbing. He froze, every muscle in his body stiffening as the sobbing continued. Yami gathered up all his courage to turn his head.

His eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight that greeted him. Sitting on the bed, was a small boy. He was sitting with his knees hugged to his chest and his face buried in his knees. His body was racking with his sobs. The thing that scared Yami the most, was the fact that the boy was transparent and had no feet.

Yami did the only thing he could do. He screamed. Hard.

At the scream the boy gasped and looked up. Yami looked straight into dull tear brimmed violet eyes. The boy gasped again and opened his mouth as he reached out his arm to Yami.

Yami let out another scream as he ran out the room and thundered down the stairs, not caring if he fell through some rotten wood. He could hear the sobbing continue as he was downstairs. He had completely forgotten he was still holding the framed picture and he ignored the warm feeling on his pants.

The door to the entrance was still closed when he was downstairs. He banged on it a couple times, when no one opened form the other side, he just slammed his shoulder into the door. The hinges of the door were already very old so they broke easily.

“Yami!” He heard Jounouchi’s voice. The blond was running over to him, followed by Bakura and Marik. The latter two started laughing hysterically.

“The guy pissed himself!” Bakura shouted out between his laughs. Yami was panting from screaming and running so much he had not noticed. He looked down and indeed saw a wet spot. “Dude, what happened? I have never heard you scream that hard before.” Jounouchi asked concerned.

“I saw a fucking ghost in there!”

The two delinquents stopped laughing.

“You couldn’t have.” Marik said a bit confused.

“What do you mean _couldn’t_ have?!” Yami screamed. He was so pissed off at his two friends for convincing him to do this. “Marik and I had wanted to scare the two of you by dressing up as a ghost.” Bakura said showing him the white sheet. “But fun killer-sama has stopped us from doing it.” Marik finished, jabbing his thumb at Jounouchi.

“Besides, the story about someone being murdered here is made up by the two of us. Some old archeologist lived here but he had died while he was out of the country.” Marik told. Yami was still panting, more out of anger than from breathlessness.

“I swear I saw it! The boy was transparent and had no feet! He was crying and then tried to grab me!” Yami screamed.

Bakura covered his ears. “No need to scream, calm down man. We can all go in there together to prove that ghosts don’t exist.” Bakura tried to bargain. “No way. There is no fucking way I am going back in there. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going home.” Yami said as he turned and speed walked towards the city.

Jounouchi watched his best friend leave before running and joining him to walk home. He saw Yami glance towards the house once more, flinch then speeding up his pace.

“Yami wait!” Jounouchi called as he too picked up his speed. The blond boy also looked at the spot Yami looked earlier but saw nothing. He finally reached Yami and grabbed the shorter boy by the shoulder. Yami gasped and twirled around, ready to punch Jounouchi.

When he saw it was his friend, he lowered his arm.

“Don’t scare me like that.” Yami said with a shaky voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Jounouchi and Yami stopped walking for a bit as they heard Marik and Bakura call out to them.

“Ignore them, I am walking home.” Jounouchi nodded and the two started walking again. “What exactly happened there?” He asked. Yami told exactly what he had done and what he had seen. Jounouchi too flinched when Yami told the sudden appearance of the ‘ghost’.

“Think it’s a prank of Marik and Bakura?” Yami asked. They were already back in the city with the speed they were walking with. “I honestly don’t know, those two can be pretty unpredictable.” Jounouchi answered truthfully. Yami sighed. “W-what if it follows me?”

Jounouchi stopped walking. He had never heard Yami be this insecure before. “Yami I….” Jounouchi did not know what to say. He couldn’t say it wouldn’t, because he didn’t know. He just squeezed Yami’s shoulder in comfort. Yami then remembered the picture that was still in his hand,

He looked at the frame but it was still dusty. Thinking the thing might be cursed or something, he threw it in a dark alley the two passed.

They continued to Yami’s house in silence. Most of the city was asleep already. Jounouchi said his goodbye after dropping Yami off but was stopped when Yami had grabbed his hand and squeezed his quite hard.

“Will you stay the night?” Yami asked in a small voice, his eyes looking at the ground. Jounouchi smiled and squeezed back. “Sure.” This was the least he could do for Yami. They entered the house, turning on all lights, much to Jounouchi’s amazement. Yami was very careful with electrical devices so his bill wasn’t too high.

Yami pushed Jounouchi into his own bedroom and handed him a pair of pajama’s that were too big on him. Jounouchi was leaving when Yami grabbed him from the shirt and pulled him back. “You’re sleeping here.” He stated. Jounouchi looked at him eyes wide.

“Seriously?”

“Jou I’m scared.” Yami whined. The blond sighed. “Fine, but keep on your own side of the bed.

“Understood.”

The two had crawled into the bed, feeling very awkward. Sure Yami was gay, didn’t mean he was drooling over every guy. He loved Jounouchi, but only platonically. “Good night Yami.” Jounouchi murmured.

“Night Katsuya.”


	3. What is on the Picture?

Yami cracked open his eyes, to see a very yellow mob of hair right in front of his face. He blinked a couple of times to clear his sight but realized soon that the hair was real and not an illusion. He threw away the blanket to see Jounouchi’s arms wrapped around his chest and his legs wrapped around his waist. The blonds head was resting on his chest, snoring a little loudly.

“Jounouchi!” Yami yelled as he sat up and kicked around a little with his legs to loosen the death grip his friend had on him. Jounouchi too cracked open one eye and glared at Yami.

“What?” He growled, upset he had been woken up from his sweet slumber.

“Dude!” Yami growled as he pointed to his own body. Jounouchi finally realized the position they were in and let go of the boy with a yelp.

The two were blushing a little and avoided each other’s gazes.

“I should’ve mentioned I’m a cuddler.” Jounouchi said guiltily. “Yeah, a warning in advance is appreciated.” Yami said sarcastically. Then the two snorted before bursting out laughing. At least they had their pajamas on.

“But love~!” Jounouchi drawled out. “I thought you loved me!” He said in mock hurt. Yami laughed at his friend’s antics. “Is this the end of our love?” Jounouchi mock cried. Yami laughed even harder than before.

“Cut it Jou, my stomach’s starting to hurt.” Yami gasped out. “Oh no! Love, please! I don’t want to hurt you!”

Yami fell from to the floor from laughing too much. Jounouchi sniggered as well. “Okay I’ll stop.” Yami sat back up and wiped the tears from his eyes with his thumb. “Thanks man, I haven’t laughed like this in ages.”

“You know I love you!” Jounouchi cooed as he gave Yami a sideway hug. Yami patted his back and chuckled. “So, if you love me that much go fix me some breakfast.”

“I can’t. You have prohibited me from entering the kitchen.” Jounouchi said. “Oh yeah.” The short teen remembered the last time Jounouchi tried to cook. Let’s just say that the fire department got involved.

“Fine, leave all the work to me.” Yami said as he hopped off the bed. “Remember that I lov-”

“Love me, yeah, yeah I know.” Yami finished. Jounouchi chuckled and undressed while Yami was away. He was happy to be able to cheer the boy up after that fearful encounter with the ‘ghost’.  He heard Yami whistling as he cooked, something he did often when he was happy.

Jounouchi quickly redressed in his clothes of yesterday, since Yami’s clothes were too small for him, and entered the kitchen. The rice was already cooked and mixed with the chicken and sauce. Yami was frying some omelets.

“Yum, omuraisu?”

“Yep.”

“I should sleep over more often.”

“Yeah, but you’re getting your own bed the next time.”

“But Yami~ You are so huggable!” Jounouchi whined.

“Seriously dude, are you sure you’re not gay?

“One hundred percent sure.” Yami laughed. He was happy with a friend like Jounouchi. He did not judge him and was still exactly the same after he had told him his secret. He could just be himself around the blond male.

Yami had put in the rice in the middle of the omelet and was folding it up. Jounouchi’s mouth watered as the smell reached his nose.

Finally he flipped it in the pan and plated it up, giving Jounouchi his plate. He cracked a couple of eggs to make one for himself as well. Jounouchi didn’t wait and dug in immediately.

“Yami your cooking is delicious!” Jounouchi hummed. “Good, cause you’re doing the dishes.” The blond almost choked in his food. “You’re horrible.”

“Get used to it.”

Yami’s omuraisu was cooked as well and the two sat at the small dining table and ate their breakfast, talking about daily things, the test of courage and the ghost luckily forgotten.

“I’m thinking about buying that new starter deck as well.” Jounouchi announced.

“See I told you it wasn’t that bad.”

“By the way, you got some good cards from the Battle Pack booster you got?”

This time Yami chocked on his food. He had completely forgotten his incredible luck. He slammed his hands on the table. Startling Jounouchi slightly. “You are never going to believe this.” He started. Jounouchi was about to take a fork full of omuraise but stopped midway.

“I got Osiris!” Yami announced.

The fork dropped from Jounouchi’s hand, his mouth still open and his hand still as if he was holding the fork.

“Show me. Now.” He demanded. They quickly shoveled what was left in their mouth before going back to Yami’s bedroom. Only Jounouchi knew where Yami kept his collector’s binder. Yami fished it out from under his bed and opened it to the last page.

Jounouchi looked in awe. There it was indeed. The Winged God Dragon of Ra AND Sky Dragon of Osiris.

“You should buy another one from Yamaoka-san. Who knows you’ll get Obelisk the next time.”

“I don’t think that will happen, I mean how big was the chance of THIS happening?” He said gesturing to the two god cards. “If I get Obelisk too, I am taking Bakura out to a fancy dinner.” Yami said.

Jounouchi laughed. “Besides, my budget is kind of tight for the following month.”

“Okay, next time we go to Yamaoka’s, it’s on me.”

“You don’t have to!”

“I want to! You took my place in that stupid thing and I’m very thankful!”

Yami shivered as Jounouchi brought it up again. Jounouchi saw it and smacked his forehead. “Sorry.” He said. “It’s okay. Just, don’t bring it up again.”

Jounouchi nodded. They looked at the alarm clock on Yami’s nightstand. It was almost noon.

“What you wanna do today?” Yami asked. “I don’t know.” Jounouchi said with a shrug.

“Shall we truly work on that school project?” Yami suggested. Jounouchi groaned. “Oh come on! We’ll have to do it eventually.”

“Fine.” Jounouchi sighed.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The next day at school, he was immediately overrun by Bakura and Marik. There goes his plan to avoid the two.

“What do you want?” He growled.

“Dude, we went in after you and nothing was there. Seriously.” Bakura said. His face was indeed very serious. Something you did not see very often.

“Yeah, we even have pictures to prove it. You know ghosts always appear on pictures.” Marik added.

“Even more reason not to look at those.”

“Dude, we have looked at them several times before. There was absolutely nothing.” Marik said, trying to convince their friend to look at the pictures. The two did feel really guilty for scaring Yami so much and making him (by his own choice) walk all the way back home.

Marik held Yami so he wouldn’t be able to escape while Bakura showed the pictures from his cellphone. Yami squeezed his eyes shut tightly so he wouldn’t have to see. “Yami open your eyes.” The white haired male demanded. Yami gathered all his courage and opened his eyes a crack.

Just like Marik and Bakura had said, there was nothing unusual in the room. The toys and clothes still littered the floor, the broken lamp still laid there broken and the draped were still ripped. There was just one thing very wrong with the image.

“When I was in the room, the blanket wasn’t on the bed completely. In your picture it’s covering the blood.” Yami said.

Bakura took the phone from Yami’s face and held it in front of his own. “It was like that when we entered.” Bakura said. “Well, it wasn’t like that when I was there and I can swear that I never touched it. Now let me go.” Yami wriggled himself out of Marik’s grip and stomped into the school building.

Marik and Bakura watched him go inside. “Bakura, I think we seriously traumatized him….”

-o-o-o-o-o-

The rest of the school day was pretty eventless. Marik and Bakura once again tried to convince him the house was not haunted during lunch but he knew what he saw. He could not get the dull violet eyes out of his mind. They looked so… sad.

He actually felt pity for the boy. He must’ve died at a very young age. He shuddered at the thought of dying before the peak of his life.

Jounouchi had suggested they go to Yamaoka’s shop again, he wanted the new starter deck. Yami agreed, anything to take his mind off of the haunted house. So after school, the two walked the well-known route to Yamaoka’s Shop.

“Ojii-san! We have returned!” Jounouchi called. Again the familiar shuffling was heard before the man entered the shop part of his home.

 “Yami, Katsuya. You have returned fast.” The man chuckled.

“You don’t want us here then?” Yami said with a fake pout. The man laughed and shook his head. “Of course I enjoy it when you visit.” The two boys grinned.

“I want a starter deck like Yami too.” Jounouchi said. The man nodded and took out one of the boxes from behind the counter. And one more Battle of the Giants.” The elder man nodded again and handed Jounouchi a booster pack as well.

“Yami, did you get some good ones from the pack?” He asked.

“Actually Yami here.” Jounouchi said as he bumped Yami with his hip, “has gotten Osiris!” Jounouchi finished. The eyes of the elder man widened before he smiled widely. “Yami my boy, you must be the luckiest man on earth.” He said in merriment.

Yami laughed and scratched his cheek. “I’m sure I’m not the luckiest. I mean I still fail in my love life.” The man laughed again and ruffled the hair of the short boy. “I am sure the woman you will marry will be the luckiest woman on earth.”

“Yes. _She_ will.” He said the word with a bit of disregard, but the old man didn’t notice. Jounouchi on the other hand, was trying his best not to burst out laughing.

“Anyway, will you boys would like to have some tea? But you will have to wait for a little bit because the store will close in about an hour.” The elder man asked. The two shook their heads. “I’m sorry Yamaoka-san, we have quite some homework to do.”

“Oh what good boys you are.” The man said with a smile and ruffled the hair of both boys. “Before you go, would one of you like to help me out in the weekends? I will pay you of course.” The man offered.

“Sorry Yamaoka-san, I already have a job.” The elder man’s face fell. “Too bad Katsuya.”

“I’d like to help! I can use the extra money.” Yami said happily. The man’s expression lit up immediately. “Thank you Yami. This man is getting a little too old to do weekend shifts as well.”

“I’d work here with pleasure.” Yami said. The man nodded. “Good, good. Come here at eight in the morning so we can get the paperwork done. You can then start immediately and open up at nine.” The man told.

“That’s good Yamaoka-san” The two shook hands. Then Yami and Jounouchi left the shop. Jounouchi told Yami he had to go home really fast because his father was probably at home with a hangover and he didn’t want to deal with his father’s screaming at him for being late.

Yami said his goodbye and made his way to his home by himself. Suddenly he stopped. Yami stood in front of the alleyway, where he discarded the photo. He gulped, he was really curious as to what was on that picture. Afraid on the other hand that he would be cursed, possessed, plagued, or other things ghosts could do to a person.

His body didn’t listen to his mind and he walked into the alley. It took a bit but he found the picture under the dumpster. He had no idea how it got there. Someone probably kicked it under or it just skidded on the ground till it halted under the dumpster after he threw it.

The dust still covered the picture. With one more gulp, he sucked in a breath and blew the dust away. Yami closed his eyes and started sneezing as some of the dust irritated his eyeballs and entered his nostrils.

He stopped sneezing when the dust was gone. After rubbing his eyes, he opened them again. It was a black and white picture. On the left was an elderly man, with spiky hair, hidden partly underneath his hat. He assumed his hair to be grey since it was nearly white on the picture. On the left was a young woman. Her hair was short and dark on the picture and she was smiling. She was very pretty.

In the middle, there was a tall man. His hair was dark and a bit spiky but tamed, unlike Yami’s own hair. In front of the man, stood a young child. The eyes had faded away on the picture, the only thing visible was his smile and damn was it beautiful. It was even prettier than the smile of the Mona Lisa.

The hair of the boy was visible, it was dark in the middle, a bit lighter at the edges and the bangs were lightly colored. It was almost the same as Yami’s. Could this have been distant family of his? No that couldn’t be. He knew almost his whole family tree. But then again, almost all family’s had secrets, like illicit children, which were abandoned.

He really wondered why the eyes of the boy were faded. Then something clicked in his mind. Could this be the same boy he saw in the house? If so, how in the world could someone kill a boy with such a gorgeous smile? Just the thought of it, made his stomach churn. To be able to turn such a smile in a sobbing, crying mess.

Yami sighed and carefully tucked the picture in his coat. He would look into it later, try and find out who the people were. He didn’t get a quite good look at the rest of the ghost. He remembered it having no feet and wearing something blue. The moment the boy tilted up his head, he could look nowhere else than the eyes.

He did not know why he was bringing the picture along. Something deep inside him told him to do it. He was scared though, a voice in the back of his head was telling him the ghost made him bring the picture. Then he halted. What if the ghost lived IN the picture?

That meant he was bringing the ghost to his house. The ethereal boy did appear after he picked the picture up. Yami retrieved the picture back from his coat and looked at it again. The smile on the boy’s face convinced him to take it along anyways. If the ghost did appear in his house, he would just burn the picture.

That night, after eating dinner and washing up, Yami put a box of matches next to the picture and kept one under his pillow, just for precaution. Finally he laid the frame face down on his nightstand and attached a spell tag to it that repels ghost.

It was something Yami hated, but he slept with the lights on that night. He couldn’t help but wonder. Why was the ghost there in the first place? Why was the ghost still tied to Earth? Was there something he needed to do? Or was it so vengeful that he could not rest till he got his revenge?

There were a lot of possibilities and the more he thought about it, the less scared he became. There have never been reports of people disappearing or found dead near the house on the news. And the little boy looked harmless. Okay most horror stories used the ghosts of children, but those were different… right? Yami couldn’t think of a difference but those eyes looked so sad. They had left a huge impression on him.

Yami sat up on his bed and picked up the pictures, waiting and looking around for a bit to see if something would pop out of nowhere. His heart was pounding in his chest but calmed down soon enough, nothing showed up.

He tried imagining the tear brimmed sad and dull violet eyes of the boy on the picture but it just didn’t do it, not with the beautiful smile. He tried imagining what those eyes would look like if he were to be alive and shimmering with happiness but couldn’t somehow. His imagination went straight back to the crying eyes.

He glanced at the clock. It was near eleven p.m., he had an early class tomorrow morning. He gulped; he could not believe he was actually considering it. Yami threw the blanket off of him and picked up his pre-packed schoolbag, dumping its contents unto the bed.

He packed a fresh pair of pants (just in case), a flashlight, the framed picture, a charm he got from his school trip to the temples and a bag of salt. Then he slipped on his discarded trousers of this day and pulled a warm sweater over his pajama top. They were nearing autumn after all and the nights were a bit on the chilly side.

Yami unlocked his bicycle and got on. _‘What in the world is wrong with me?!’_ Yami’s mind screamed to himself. But an unknown force just made him continue. Yami did like adventures, he just didn’t want to die yet. Somehow, he convinced himself that the ghost would be harmless. He only hoped his mind was right.

With trembling legs and arms, he peddled to the direction of the abandoned house. It took longer than with the car, but less time than walking. He didn’t even bother to lock his bicycle to something and just let it drop on the overgrown lawn. No one was foolish enough to steal from an abandoned haunted house.

No one, except him and his stupid friends. (Jounouchi not included)

The door was back in its place. He did not know if it was the work of Marik and Bakura, to cover up their trespassing, or the work of the ghost, who would probably be pissed off at him for destroying its property.

He pushed the door open, the rusty metal making a creaking sound as it moved. He cringed, the sounds didn’t help his already anxious mind. His heart was trying to fight its way out of his ribcage as he stepped into the house. Everything looked fairly the same as when he entered the previous day.

He did not waste time by idling around in other rooms and headed to the stairs immediately, turning on the flashlight before he ascended the stairs. He tiptoed up the stairs, trying to make as less sound as possible, thinking that, if he made even one small sound, the ghost would be alerted.

He gulped again as he set his foot on the second floor. All doors were closed. Bakura and Marik must’ve closed it after they left. Bakura hates nothing more than open doors. As he neared the ‘murder scene’, he froze on his spot.

For he heard sobbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurray for Bromance!!
> 
> I really love the friendship between Jounouchi and Yami.


	4. Amnesia

Yami could feel the cold sweat dripping down his neck. Would he turn tail and run or confront the spirit?

He immediately put on the charm, and opened up the bag of salt. With a deep breath to calm himself down, Yami threw open the door and waved wildly with the bag, his eyes closed. When the bag was near empty, he opened his eyes.

The spirit was sitting on the bed, in the same position he first found him, the duvet was again hanging half on the floor. The expression of the ghost was astonished, with tears still leaking from his eyes. Yami guessed he never expected his door to be thrown open and someone randomly sprinkle salt in the room.

The boy gasped as he got over his surprise and saw Yami standing in the threshold of his bedroom door. “Y-you returned.” Was that happiness in his voice? The spirit released his knees and stood up, immediately levitating in the air. Now Yami could see it all clearly.

There were several stab wounds on the body of the boy. None of them seemed too fatal so Yami concluded that he probably bled to death. He was wearing light blue colored pajamas with yellow stars on them. On his neck, he wore a dog collar. His hair was astonishingly similar to Yami’s, just like the picture he had unintentionally stolen. Yami knew for sure now that this ghost was the boy on the picture. Perhaps a little older.

He reached out to Yami again as he neared the teenager.

“Stay back!” Yami yelled as he held out the charm and sprinkled more salt around. The spirit flinched and stumbled back a bit. Tears started rolling down his eyes again as he resumed the sitting position on the bed and continued sobbing.

A nagging feeling tugged at Yami. He knew very well the name of that feeling.

“W-what happened?” He stuttered. He was talking to a ghost for crying out loud.

“I don’t know.” The voice was muffled since his face was buried in his knees. “How do you not know?” Yami asked as he stepped further into the room. “I just don’t know.” The boy muttered.

“Then what is your name?”

The spirit was silent, except for his occasional sob. “You don’t remember your name either?” Yami asked. He had gained the courage to sit Indian style in the middle of the room, his bag of purifying salt forgotten. It seemed like it didn’t even affect the boy for he was not in pain or being repelled by it.

Yami saw the boy shake his head, still buried in his knees. Yami felt truly sorry for the ghost. “Why can you not rest?” Yami asked. The spirit raised his head and looked at Yami.

“I don’t know…”

“Maybe… because you don’t remember your name?” Yami suggested. He had once read that only things with a name exist. If something did not have a name, it did not have a soul or something in that direction. He could not remember it exactly, but maybe that was the reason he could not pass on, because he simply did not exist.

The spirit’s eyes widened as he listened to what Yami said. “Will you help me?” He asked hopefully.

Yami chewed on his bottom lip. He would like to help the spirit, but how was he supposed to help this boy, focus on school and keep Yoshida at bay?

“I would love to but I….” He trailed off. The boy sighed and rested his cheek on his knees.

“I understand.” He said, voice full disappointment, tears still rolling down his cheeks. That tugging feeling came back. Yami sighed and took out the picture from his bag. “Look, I’ll see what I can do okay? Can you perhaps tell me who these people are?” Yami asked as he showed the picture.

The boy stood up again and floated closer, cautiously. He did not want to get yelled at again. He took the picture from Yami, the boy in question freezing in fear as the spirit was too close. The spirit ran his hand over the glass. “I don’t remember them… But I know they were dear to me.” He said. His fingers stopping over the faded part.

“Is this me?” He asked Yami. The teenager tried looking everywhere but the eyes as he talked to the little boy. They were still as dead and sad looking as ever. “I’m pretty sure it is you. I did find it in your room after all. By the way, sorry for taking it like that, I panicked. But I have no evidence it’s you, it does look like you but a little younger.” Yami explained.

The boy nodded and handed it back to Yami, floating back to the bed to sit down. “Is there something you can tell me, that might help me find out your name?” Yami asked. The boy looked up at the roof as he thought, letting out a sob or sniffing every now and then.

“The only thing I know….” He started. He then looked back at Yami. “Is that something dear to me is missing.” Yami looked at the ghost with a deadpan expression.

“And what is this dear thing you are missing?” Yami asked a bit agitated. The ghost sensed the annoyance of the teenager and looked away. “I don’t know.” He said softly. Yami sighed through his nose, something he did to show extreme annoyance. How was he supposed to help the boy if he knew nothing about him?

“All right then. I’ll ask around, see if someone knew who lived here. Do you by any chance, know how long you’ve been dead?” A shake of the head. “Very well, the residents of the old abandoned house should suffice I guess.” Yami looked at the clock on his cell phone. Yami noticed the boy looking at his phone with awe.

“I have to go now. I have school early in the morning and it’s already near midnight.” Yami said as he stood up. “Do you mind if I take the picture with me? Maybe someone will recognize one of these people on the picture.” Yami said.

The boy immediately stood up. “Don’t leave.” He whimpered. Yami stepped back as the boy floated forward. “Please, I am so lonely here. It hurts.”

Yami bit his lower lip again, he could taste blood this time. “I’m sorry… I can’t…. But I promise I’ll return as soon as I find out something, okay?” Yami said in a soothing voice. The boy looked at the floor and twirled his thumbs. “Okay.” He whispered.

“Oh by the way, my friends came here after I… left.” He did not want to admit that he fled. “Why was the stain covered?” Yami finished as he indicated to the bed. The boy followed his gaze and sat down on the bed.

“Those two scared me.” He muttered. Yami snorted before bursting into full-blown laughter. The spirit looked at him confused. He did not see the fun in it. “I never imagined those two being able to scare a ghost. I mean, yeah they can get really creepy, but a ghost fearing them?”

“I thought… if they saw the blood… they wouldn’t leave.”

“Good thing you did, because they wouldn’t have left indeed. Anyways, I’m sorry about the salt. I promise I’ll be back when I find out something, okay?” He repeated to assure the boy. The unearthly boy nodded and watched Yami leave.

Yami had put the framed picture back in his bag as he descended the stairs. To his luck, the front door was open this time so he didn’t have to break it down. He picked up his bicycle and started peddling home. Just like last time, the boy watched him leave from the window of his room.

The teenager picked up speed as he saw what time it was. He was going to be very late and probably look like a zombie as well when he arrived at school. Did he regret going back to the house? He did not know. He had taken the burden of helping the ghost boy, but at least he would be able to sleep alone and with the lights off again. Probably.

After minutes of peddling, he had finally arrived home. He unceremoniously dropped his bag in the hallway and went straight to his room. He swiped the discarded school supplies to the floor and crawled into bed, not even bothering to take off his pants and the sweater.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“Sennen Yami.”

Yamada-sensei sighed. “Probably late again.” He muttered to himself and continued the attendance. Jounouchi sighed as he looked at the empty desk in front of him. _‘Yami should really get rid of the habit to get late.’_ He thought to himself.

The blond boy was getting worried as Yami still did not show up after the second class. The teacher for English walked in and greeted the class. He held out his hand and asked for permission to use the bathroom. To his luck, he was granted.

As soon as he got in a stall, he whipped out his phone and dialed the number of his best friend.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yami groaned and turned around as an annoying beeping sound reached his ears. The beeping didn’t stop, so he tiringly sat up and glared at the device that was making the noise. He picked it up, not looking at the screen and snapped it open.

“What.” He snarled into the receiver.

_“Wow, is it that time of the month again?”_

Yami rubbed the bridge of his nose as the familiar voice of his best friend reached his ears. “Sorry man, I had a horrible night of sleep.”

_“Is it because of the house?”_

“Yeah… sort of.”

There was a short silence before the blond started speaking again. _“Is that also why you didn’t come to school?”_

“Sort of, I just overslept is all.” Yami replied in a yawn. “I should be able to make it to lunch.” The teen said as he glanced at the clock.

_“Care to tell me why you didn’t sleep?”_

“I’ll tell you during lunch, see you then.” Yami said and hung up. He didn’t even wait for a reply. He stood up with much difficulty and wobbled to the bathroom. He took a quick shower to wake up completely and dressed in his school uniform.

He then headed to the kitchen and retrieved his bento box from a cupboard. The thing was a bit on the dusty side since he never had time to make lunch in the mornings. Yami fixed himself a quick lunch and arranged it in his now clean lunch box.

Not feeling like walking, he unlocked his bicycle and peddled to school. Just like he had promised Jounouchi, he arrived just in time for lunch. His friend was already sitting at their usual table. The moment Yami’s butt touched the chair, Jounouchi bombarded him with questions.

“Okay, what did you do last night? Who were you with? What’s his name? Did you do it?”

Yami stared at his best friend with wide eyes. “Dude! I told you it was about the house.” Yami retorted. “And I went back there, I was with the ghost, I don’t know his name and no.” He answered. “Okay, good I don’t want you to get hu- WHAT?”

The whole class stopped what they were doing and stared at the two. Yami kicked his friend’s shin from under the table and hissed for him to be quit. Jounouchi chuckled awkwardly and the rest of the class continued their chatting and eating.

“What?” Jounouchi asked again but this time in a hiss. “I don’t know why, but I really had the urge to go back. He was there again and we… talked.” Yami explained, sort of. “And.” Jounouchi urged. “Well… he can’t pass on for unknown reasons, he does not remember anything except for that something dear to him has been taken, that he is lonely and is afraid of Marik and Bakura.” Yami said as he casually opened his bento box and started eating.

Jounouchi stared at his friend, mouth agape and the sandwich he was holding dropped on the desk. Yami, who was too scared to sleep alone a couple days ago was here talking as if he and the ghost were friends.

“You have to be fucking kidding me.”

“I’m not.”

“Wow.” Jounouchi breathed. “Anything else happened?” Jounouchi asked as he picked up his sandwich and took a huge bite out of it. “He asked me for help.” Yami said now serious. “I think that he might rest if he knows his name.” Yami explained.

Jounouchi hummed in thought. “Or maybe he just needs that important thing to him.”

“Yeah, one problem. He does not know what it is.”

“Do you think I can meet him too?” Jounouchi asked. Yami shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, I’ll ask him if he would mind the next time.” Yami answered, popping some diced apple into his mouth.

“You’re going back there?” Jounouchi asked with incredulous tone. “Yeah… he was crying… and… I couldn’t say no.” he quickly finished. Jounouchi shook his head. “You really should learn how to say no.”

“Believe me, if you saw him, you would immediately take pity on him. It was those eyes that persuaded me to go back.”

“So… you going to help him?”

“I did promise to go back once I find something… I never promised to actually help.” Yami said unsure. “So… are you?”

The teenager sighed. “I think I will. If I don’t, who will? He might be there waiting for another hundred years if he can’t find rest.”

“You really are a good person you know that?” Then he leaned closer and whispered to Yami. “If I were gay I would probably worship you.” He whispered teasingly. Yami blushed and kicked Jounouchi under the table again.

“S-shut up. Stupid.” Jounouchi laughed out loud, attracting the attention of their classmates again. This time two delinquents included. “Hey Yami, where were you this morning. Was Yami-chan having nightmares?” Bakura cooed. Yami punched the white haired male in the arm for his teasing.

Marik wrapped his arm around Yami’s shoulders and pulled the boy against his chest. “Ish Yami-chwan afwaid of ghowts?”

“Guys, cut it!” Yami growled as he pushed Marik away from him. “Besides, I’m not afraid of ghosts.” Yami said bravely. Marik and Bakura looked at each other before bursting in laughter. “You were so scared you saw a ghost you pissed yourself!”

Yami hushed him angrily. He did not want the whole school knowing what transpired that evening. “Okay then Yami. If you claim you’re not afraid of ghosts, then why don’t we go back there.” Marik suggested.

“Sure.” Yami gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “But I’ll only be able to go Saturday evening.” He added. Marik and Bakura looked at each other again. This time they were confused. “You sure?” Bakura asked. “Yep.”

He pulled Marik with him out of hearing distance. “Marik, I think we broke him.” He whispered.

“Yeah, I wonder what happened… why isn’t he scared anymore?” Bakura shrugged his shoulders. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the break to be over. Their English teacher walked in and told everyone to sit down and grab their books.

The students listened and everyone searched out their desk. Yami bent down to get his English book and notebook.

_‘Shit.’_

He had completely forgotten he had dumped out his school supplies in change of a pair of paints and ghost ‘hunting’ supplies. He awkwardly raised his hand. When the teacher acknowledged him, he chuckled sheepishly and scratched his cheek.

“Sensei, I forgot my book.”

The teacher rolled her eyes. She too was used to Yami’s gawkiness. “Very well, Sennen-san, you may work together with Jounouchi-san.” Yami nodded and turned around his chair, hogging Jounouchi’s book. The blond was good at it anyways.

“What’s in your bag? It looks so puffy.” Jounouchi whispered to the spiky haired teen. Yami blushed slightly as he eyed his bag. “Pants, the picture and a flashlight.” Yami whispered back. Jounouchi snorted, disturbing the class and making the teacher scold them. Yami glared at the blond who had a huge smile on his face.

The school bell rang and all students left the school grounds. Yami and Jounouchi walked casually to Yami’s home, intent on finishing their project there.

“So, did you get something good out of the Battle Pack I bought you?” Jounouchi asked as they waited for a red pedestrian light turned red. Yami gasped as he opened a side pocket of his bag and fished out the unopened booster pack.

“I honestly completely forgot about it.” He said.

“Well then, open it!” Jounouchi demanded. After they had crossed the road Yami ripped off the top and pushed up the cards. He flipped through them once and sighed. “Nope, I already have these.” He handed the cards to Jounouchi. “You take them, they will be a good addition to your power based deck.”

Jounouchi took the cards from Yami and looked at them. “Yeah, thanks man!”

After they had settled in Yami’s living room, Jounouchi asked the thing that had been nagging in the back of his mind.

“Hey Yami, you said you had a picture in your bag right?” The boy nodded. “What picture? Didn’t you thrown away the one from the house that same night?” Yami got the picture from his bag and handed it to Jounouchi.

“Yeah, it’s the one from the house.” He told. “I got it back after we left Yamaoka’s house.” He then pointed to the boy with the faded eyes. “I think this boy is the ghost. But he does not remember who he is or who these other people are. I hope to maybe get some clues with this picture.”

“This might help you indeed. From what time is it?” Jounouchi asked, their project pushed aside for now. “Well… I’m guessing fifty or sixty years since it’s a black and white photo.”

“Don’t they usually put a date on the back of photos?” Jounouchi asked. Yami hummed and turned the frame around. He undid the holders that kept the back in place and lifted it off, taking the photo out of the frame.

“There is no date.” Yami said disappointed. “Well, I still think you should ask old people. The picture is definitely old.”

Yami put on a fake smile. “Hello. My name is Yami, I have been asked by the ghost of this boy to help him find out his name. Do you happen to know who this is?” He asked in a sweet voice to no one in particular. “Yeah, as if that’s going to work.”

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. “You might try at some retirement homes.” Yami shook his head. “This man.” He pointed to the one with the hat and the grey spiky hair. “Is probably already dead.” He then pointed to the woman and the man. “These two should be about seventy or eighty then.” He concluded. “They might still be alive or they might be dead.”

“You just said so yourself, they might still be alive.”

Yami sighed and put the picture back in the frame and fastened the bindings before shoving it back in his bag. “Let’s forget about it for now and focus on the project. What is left to do?” He asked to change subjects.

“We just have to finish up the report and then go to the museum to take pictures.” Jounouchi said. Yami nodded and set to work. They had to write a report about an Ancient Egyptian subject. He and Jounouchi had chosen to write it about Egyptian beliefs in magic. They were almost done, just needed to write the conclusion, take picture and hand it in.

The conclusion was written fairy quickly and the two headed to the museum. After taking the required pictures, Jounouchi had to leave for home. Yami said his goodbye and sat down on the steps of the stairs there. He looked through the pictures they had taken, in case some didn’t turn out right. They had taken pictures of six artifacts, of which the ancient Egyptians believed contained magic. He had read on the plaque that there were seven of them in total but that one was never found.

He put the camera away and sighed, his mind wandering off to the picture again.

“Why the distressed sigh?” A feminine voice asked behind him. He gasped and turned around, but relaxed as soon as he saw who it was. “Ishizu, you startled me.” He said with a smile. She returned his smile and sat beside him. Ishizu, better known as Marik’s sister, was manager of the Egyptian exhibition. “So tell me, what is bothering you.” She said as she soothingly rubbed his arm. Yami felt a bit fuzzy on the inside, she was the sister he never had.

“You see, I got this picture from… a friend. He wanted me to find out who the people on the picture were but I have no idea where to start looking.” Yami explained. “Show me, maybe I can help out.” She said sweetly. Yami chuckled. “I doubt you will, but I guess it’s worth a shot.” He said as he handed the picture to the Egyptian woman.

Ishizu stayed silent as she stared at the photo, her eyes widening.


	5. Cleaning

“Yami, where did you get this photo?” Ishizu asked, her eyes not leaving the picture.

“L-like I said… a friend gave me.” His voice was trembling a little. “Do not lie to me.” She said very serious. Yami bit his lips, he might as well tell at least half the truth. “We got it from this abandoned house in the outskirts of Domino.”

“I assume this ‘we’ also includes my little brother?”

Yami said nothing in defense of his friend but he had already given them away. “I think I will have a talk with him later today.” Yami gulped, he hoped his name would not come up. “But I wonder. Who asked you to figure out the identities of these people?” She asked, finally looking at Yami.

“I… I can’t tell you that Ishizu. At least not yet.” He was not ready to tell everyone he was socializing with a ghost. He would be thrown in a padded cell in no time. “But it is really important for this person that I figure out the names of these people.”

Ishizu looked back at the picture, letting out a hum as she thought. The she pointed to the eldest man. “I only know his name.” She said. “His name is Mutou Sugoroku. He was an archeologist and he passed away after he was poisoned. I think it happened on the plane to one of his excavations. I do not know who the other people are; they might be his family or his colleagues.” Ishizu told.

Yami nodded as he mentally noted it all down. He hoped it was his family, which would make it so much easier to track them down than colleagues. “Thank you Ishizu, that really helps a lot.” Yami said as he took the picture back from her.

“Yami, be careful. Don’t do unnecessary dangerous things.” Ishizu warned. Yami nodded. “I won’t Ishizu, I just want to help… him.”

“Can you at least tell me his name?”

Yami shook his head. “I can’t because I don’t know.” Yami said and quickly left, leaving Ishizu confused and worried. He felt a little guilty for being so mysterious, yet it gave him a kick. He was actually secretly enjoying doing this for the ghost and it didn’t seem as hopeless as he first thought it would be.

He went straight back home and finished off the project first. It was just printing out pictures and pasting them where needed. Then he went back to the computer and opened up the internet browser.

“Mutou Sugoroku.” He said out loud as he typed in the name and hit enter. Thousands of results were found but he clicked the first one, a Wikipedia page. He inwardly cheered as a black and white picture of the same man came up on the page. This was the man.

He scrolled down, going over the text quickly. There were stuff written about his findings and expeditions. Then came his private life. Yami had read quickly over it but all that was written was about his study. He did find out that he was married and had one child. He then stopped scrolling when he came to the heading ‘Death’.

“Mutou Sugoroku had passed away after a poison had started showing its effects on the plane to an excavation site in Egypt.” He read out loud.

Yami continued on reading but there was no more usable material left for him. He copied the most important facts onto an empty word document and saved it. He would have to print it out and show the ghost.

He then clicked a couple of other links the search engine had found for him. The first few were a bit useless but then he found an old newspaper clipping. He immediately saved it before reading it.

_“Archeologist poisoned, motive and perpetrator unknown_

_Mutou Sugoroku was poisoned the day he left for his excavation to Cairo, Egypt. The poisoning was timed so that it would take its affects in mid-air so he could not be saved. The perpetrator is believed to be the family member living with the archeologist in Japan. When the local police went to question said family member, they had disappeared. The police beliefs that the suspect escaped after committing the crime. Professor Arthur Hopkins, colleague and friend of the victim, says that Mutou Sugoroku had a quarrel with his relative before he left._

_This quarrel is believed to be the motive. Though there were no traces of poison found in the house of the of the professor and his relative, they are still the biggest suspect because of the suspicious disappearance and the possible motive.”_

The rest of the newspaper was about other possible motives and what happened to Sugoroku’s body. Yami did not understand it, why was it so vague? Perhaps Ishizu knew a little more about his family? If she did know, then he would still not know who the other people on the picture were.

He sighed and shut down his computer for now. He could try and ask the city hall for Mutou Sugoroku’s family but he doubted they would just throw around information and who knows how much they would charge him. He was already on the verge of being broke. At least he had a lead.

Yami crawled into his bed after putting on his pajama’s. It had been a long day. He couldn’t decide if he would tell the ghost about his findings. Maybe Yami wouldn’t be able to find out more and he would’ve gotten the ghost’s hopes up if he told now. So the decision was actually easily made after he thought about that.

The teenager set his alarm clock and closed his eyes, mind clear of everything.

The alarm clock beeped the next morning waking the teen up from his precious sleep. It was Wednesday so he had a relatively short day. That was ideal for him because he really needed to do groceries.

He went through his usual morning routine of showering, dressing and eating breakfast. He was so into it that he had completely forgotten the time (which is also usual) and ran out the door. Yami preferred walking, or more like running, the way to school instead of taking the overly crowded bus. He simply detested it when people would rub their bodies on his because there was not enough space or that they would shove their armpits into his face because they wanted to hold the loops at the roof of the bus. God, he hated his short stature.

He arrived to class after attendance and sat down. His teacher simply ignored him and continued his teachings. The day went by pretty eventless. He and Jounouchi handed in their assignment, ate lunch and then went home. Jounouchi suggested they go to the arcade but Yami remembered he needed to do some groceries. Yamada could show up at any moment and he did not feel like dealing with her at the moment. He dropped his schoolbag in his room and pocketed his wallet.

The grocery store wasn’t far from his home. He still thanked his great grandfather for choosing to live in the middle of town to this day. His thoughts drifted to the house of the ghost. It must’ve been hard to find a decent supermarket that was nearby in a place like that.

The teenager picked up a basket and started loading groceries, adding up the amount of costs in his head. He could not go over his budget. At the check-out, he realized he made a small mistake and was a little bit over his budget. He not-pouted and decided it to be the best if he sacrificed his favorite snacks.

“Could you please remove these?” He said as he set apart a bag of chips and a couple kinds of candies. The cashier nodded, she was familiar with Yami and somewhat knew his situation.

“Oh no, it’s alright. Please add these too.” A voice behind him said.

He turned around and recognized the elder woman he had come to love as his own grandmother. The cashier scanned those items too and took the money from the elderly lady.

“Otogi-baachan, you really don’t have to.” Yami said as he tried to stop the woman from paying for him. The woman smiled, making her faced even more wrinkled and shook her head. “I want to. But there’s a catch.” She said with a playful voice, he crystal blue eyes shining.

Yami smiled back, the woman had done this before. Yami put both his and the woman’s groceries in paper bags before waiting till the woman was done with paying. She hooked her arm into Yami’s waiting one and the two slowly started walking. She lived a little bit farther away from Yami so he dropped off his own groceries, Otogi-baachan waiting patiently, for him to return. She was old but she was as fit as a fiddle and didn’t mind the short wait.

Yami returned with the groceries of her still in his arms and resumed walking with her to her home. The elder woman had hooked her arm into his again. “So what is the catch this time?” He asked as they waited for the pedestrian light to turn green.

“Well, I said it was a catch but it’s not really an obligation.” She started. They resumed walking as the light turned green. “You see, I was planning to clean up the attic this Saturday but I need some strong arms to lift the heavier boxes.” She explained. “I understand if you can’t come, being busy with school and all.” She finished, her tone friendly.

Yami shook his head. “I can’t help on Saturday but I would love to come over on Sunday.” He said, he had already planned on not going back to the haunted house. “That is also fine, I will make a cake on Saturday then so we can have some tea and cake after we’re done if you’d like.”

“That sounds lovely.” Yami said with a smile. They stopped on the porch of the house of the woman. She held the door open for Yami as he stepped inside and carried the bags to the kitchen after taking off his shoes.

“Would you like to stay for a little or do you have to go?”

Yami looked at his watch. It was late in the afternoon and he still had his blasted mathematic homework to do. Anything to procrastinate that. “I think I can stay for an hour or two.”

The woman nodded with a happy smile as she went to the kitchen to make some tea and put away the groceries while she was waiting for the tea. Yami went and helped her put them all away.

“Otogi-baachan, you really didn’t have to pay for me.” He said as he put away the last of the bought items. The woman chuckled and shook her head. “It’s really no problem Yami. And how many times do I have to say that you can just call me Anzu.”

“Alright then Anzu-baachan.  You really didn’t have to pay for me.” He repeated. The woman laughed. “It really is no problem at all. My Ryuuji has left me enough to live comfortably with for the rest of my days. After my children left I suddenly didn’t have anything to spend on. Also, my grandchildren don’t visit as often as I would like them to.” She said with hints of sadness in her voice.

Yami could not believe the grandchildren of the woman. If she was his grandmother, he would visit every day. Her husband had passed away a couple of years ago and she was lonely since. Yami loved to visit her every now and then to cheer her up. He met them through the game shop her husband owned. It was fairly popular in town and the business went well.

Anzu-baachan was not familiar with running a store and her children didn’t want to take over so the store had to be closed. That is also why Yamaoka-san was a regular of him. Elder people loved him.

“So what cake will you be making?” He asked to lighten the mood a little bit. Anzu had a thoughtful look on her face. “What would you like?” She asked. “Chocolate banana.” Yami said with no hesitation. The woman laughed, already expecting that answer.

“Chocolate banana it is then.”

He stayed over, talking about his life, leaving out the part with the encounter of the ghost. It was mostly about school, Bakura and Malik’s shenanigans, Yamada’s visits and Duel Monsters. He told her that he had gotten two of the Egyptian Gods. Anzu-baachan had never played Duel Monsters but she knew quite a lot about it from her late husband.

The boy said his goodbye with the promise of coming in the weekend after he saw it was too late. He ran back home and put away his own groceries before they would get spoiled. He then opened his mathematics book and started to go through the problems. The gears in his head were making overtime as he thought hard about all the unsolvable problems.

With a sigh he gave up and slammed the book shut. He shoved them in his school bag so he wouldn’t forget it. It was better to hand in half made wrong homework than nothing at all. At least it showed his effort. He then packed the rest of his books in his bag and set it aside.

The weekend came and Yami prepared for his first day of work. He kept looking at the clock, not wanting to be late for his first day of work. He left his house dressed in dark jeans and a white turtleneck with a black leather jacket to keep him warm in the chill autumn air.

Yamaoka-san was waiting for him at the front door of his house, which was around the corner of the shop.

“Good morning Yami, glad you could make it.”

“Good morning Yamaoka-san, it really is a pleasure.”

They quickly went over the paperwork and Yami could start his first day of work on his first job. The older man told him all the basics and how to work the cash register. Yami already knew the store very well so Yamaoka didn’t have to tell him that.

Soon Yami was left alone in the store. Yamaoka thought the boy could handle it. If there was a problem he would come down immediately to the rescue. Yami was almost bouncing on his feet as he waited for the first customer to walk through the doors. It so happened to be Jounouchi.

“Morning Yami-chan~” The blond greeted in a sing-song voice as he walked up to the counter. “ I thought you had to work today.” Yami asked with a slight frown. Jounouchi tutted as he shook his head with a smirk plastered on his face. “I only said I already had a job. Not that I had to work on Saturday.”

Yami sighed, then got into his role of salesman. “Hello dear customer, how may I be of service today?” He asked with a fake smile. Jounouchi immediately played along. “Well you see my good sir. I was planning on trying some of your exquisite booster packs to add to the starter deck. But then I reconsidered that maybe I would like to try a Battle Pack.” Jounouchi said snooty accent.

Yami sniggered. “Well my friend. I would suggest you try the booster pack for your starter deck for the Battle Pack is almost out of print. It would be hard to get the cards that support each other fairly hard while the starter deck is very new and unique.” Yami replied in the same accent but nowhere near as good as Jounouchi.

Jounouchi hummed as he rubbed his chin. “You look reliable sir. Very well then. I will take up on your advice and have three of those.”

Yami snorted and burst out laughing. Jounouchi joined him, holding the counter for support. Yami loved these silly moment with Jounouchi. The spiky haired teen wiped the tear away from his eye and gave Jounouchi the booster packs. The blond paid for them and took the small plastic bag from Yami.

“You busy tomorrow?” He asked. Yami nodded. “Yep, Anzu-baa has paid for my groceries again so as a thank you I’m going to help her clean her attic.”

“How nice of her. Then I will see you on Monday.” Jounouchi said. Just before he opened the door, he stopped and turned around. “Did you find out something about… you know who?” He asked. Yami looked around real quick before answering. “Yeah, just one person on the photo, I’ll tell you Monday.” He said in a hushed voice.

Jounouchi nodded and left. After him, the customers started picking up and before he knew it, it was pretty busy in the shop. He gave advice on how to improve the customer’s decks and told them possible strategies. Yamaoka had at some point come into the shop to look at the progress. He was very happy with how Yami was running the shop.

After closing time, he handed Yami a Battle Pack. It was the last one the shop had. The booster packs would not come in anymore since they would be out of print and the bigger companies had bought the last supplies from the manufacturers.

Yami thanked the man with a deep bow and a smile. He then left for home, deciding to rest up well if he was to lift heavy boxes. He would just open the booster pack after he had gotten home from Otogi-baachan.

The following morning he stood up and got ready, putting on a simple and comfortable sweatshirt and a pair matching sweatpants. Anzu let him in and gave him instructions. They were fairly simple. He was to see which boxes did not have a name on them and bring them down so Anzu could look through them and see if there was something useful in them. If it was junk, she would just throw them out.

He didn’t waste time and set to work. The attic was dusty and full of cobwebs. He set aside the boxes with no name and pushed those with a name against the other side of the wall, making sure the name of the boxes were easily seen. It took him a couple hours but he was done sorting out the boxes. There were only seven boxes without a name so carrying it down wouldn’t be too big a problem. Most of the boxes were light and rattled a bit. A couple were very heavy. He suspected those to be full of books.

Anzu was waiting for him downstairs with a glass of cool lemonade. He gratefully took it and downed it in a couple of gulps. The dust did no good to his throat. Anzu thanked him and opened the first box. She started throwing out useless things in a garbage bag as Yami sat down on the couch to rest for a bit.

He looked at the photos lined up on the fireplace. They went from oldest to newest. The first one was of Anzu and Ryuuji in formal clothing. She had told him that it was their first prom. This photo was black and white. Yami thought that Ryuuji was incredibly handsome when he was younger. Then a couple more black and white pictures followed of the two of them growing older. Then came the colored pictures. The first one was the wedding picture of Anzu and Ryuuji. Then one with their children when they were still small. Last one was one of her children and grandchildren.

“Oh.” He heard Anzu say and turned his head. She had opened one of the heavier boxes and like he had suspected it was full of books. In her hand she held an album in her hands and caressed the cover slightly. “I thought I had gotten rid of this.” She whispered.

Yami frowned. “What is that?” He asked. Anzu sighed and threw the album in the garbage bag. “Just memories I am trying to forget. Yami scowled and fished the album out of the bag. “You should not throw it away. Bad memories or not, they are something precious and this is irreplaceable.” Yami said. “What’s in it anyway?”

Anzu gently took the album out of his hand and opened the first page. “It’s filled with pictures of someone who betrayed me. I always thought he was an angel and I had even developed a crush on him… but then he did something unforgivable.”

On the first page ‘Me and my best friend!’ was written in sloppy handwriting. The page was decorated with various stickers and drawn hearts and flowers. The first couple of pages were baby pictures of Anzu and another baby.

She flipped some pages and the two of them grew up together. Anzu sighed through her nose as they looked at the pictures. She was feeling nostalgic and sad as well. She skipped a couple pages ahead, to a picture where to two of them were ten years old.

Suddenly, Yami’s hand slammed onto the book, starling Anzu into dropping the album. “I-is something wrong?” She stuttered. Yami didn’t answer as he stared at the picture with eyes almost popping out if his eye sockets.

 “Who is he?” He asked.

The tone in which he asked scared the elder woman slightly. “H-he is that friend….” She answered. Yami shook his head and looked at her. “What is his name.” He pressed.

Anzu gulped and looked at the picture of her former friend.

“His name was Mutou Yuugi.”

Yami took looked at the picture.

It was him, the ghost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens!
> 
> I used to hate cliffhangers.... But I have found out that they are so much fun to write...  
> I think it does not matter since I am posting all the chapters I have at the same time.... but you will have to wait for the rest xP


	6. Stolen

Anzu snatched the album from Yami and closed it, throwing it back into the garbage bag.

“He did horrible, horrible things and I will never ever forgive him.” She said in a huff. She calmed herself down slightly. “Why do you want to know anyway?” She asked as she started rummaging through boxes again.

Yami bit his lip; he could not tell her the truth. He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “He is my grandfather.”

Anzu had a look of shock in her eyes as she looked at the thrown away album. “I never knew he had children.” She mumbled. Yami felt guilty for lying. More lies followed the first one. “We need to make a family tree for a school project but I can’t find out anything. My parents had never mentioned him to me and now that they’re gone….” He trailed off.

Anzu sighed and picked out the album again. She handed it to Yami, opening it to the page where the two of them were slightly older. “His name like I said earlier was Mutou Yuugi. We used to be the best of friends and I had a crush on him.” She told. Then she flipped a few pages till a picture came where they were about fourteen years old.

“We used to be neighbors and lived just outside Domino. He was such a sweet person, couldn’t hurt a fly… that’s what we all thought.” Anzu said the last part bitterly. Yami was confused, what did the little ghost, who he now found out was named Yuugi, do? “Oh how wrong we were.”

“What did he do?” Yami asked. A couple tears ran down the elder woman’s face. The nagging feeling of guilt tugged more at him. “He… he murdered someone.” She said softly, voice breaking. Yami frowned, he could not believe it, then something hit him. The newspaper article.

“Mutou Sugoroku.” He whispered.

Anzu had heard this and nodded. “Yes, that was his grandfather. He was already quite old when he went to that excavation. Yuugi had already lost his parents by then so his grandfather took care of him. They had an argument that day. Yuugi had told his grandfather that he was too old and should retire. Jii-chan disagreed and went anyways. I remember it very well. That night Yuugi never said goodbye to him.” She laid her hands on her lap and looked at them instead of Yami.

“Despite the argument, Yuugi still cooked for him like he always did. That is also one of the reasons he is a suspect. The poison kicked in and he died slowly. The police was going to question Yuugi for possible enemies or rivals of Sugoroku but he had disappeared the next day, making him even more suspicious.”

Yami rapidly shook his head. “I don’t believe it.” He said firmly. “Yuugi died very young.”

This time Anzu frowned. “How young?” She asked. Yami pursed his lips as he thought. The ghost looked incredibly young. “I think around fourteen.” He answered.

“That is not possible. This all happened when he was sixteen years old.”

Could Yuugi have died immediately after the poisoning? Perhaps he killed himself after he did the deed. Yami still couldn’t believe it. The ghost had several stab wounds. If it was a suicide it would probably a slit wrist or throat. The boy on the photo’s looked so nice and innocent. He did also mention that he somehow knew the persons on the picture were dear to him. Then he remembered his own picture.

He stood up without a word and retrieved it from his bag. He carried it around with him, in case he found out something, like now.

“This is Sugoroku-san right?” He asked, pointing to the eldest person on the picture. Anzu nodded. “Yes that was Jii-chan.”

“Who were these people?” He asked pointing to the man behind Yuugi and the woman next to him. “Well they were his parents of course.” Yami nodded. So they were his family after all. “What happened to them? You said that had passed away when Yuugi was young.”

“Yes indeed. I think he was ten when it happened. His parents were on a dinner for their anniversary that evening. They were mugged and found dead behind the restaurant. Sugoroku was the only one Yuugi had left so I never understood why Yuugi would murder him.

Yami slammed his hands on the floor. “Yuugi never murdered anyone. He was murdered himself!” He snarled. The elder woman flinched and leaned back a little, never expecting such malice from the usual sweet and calm boy. What bothered her the most was, why was the boy protected Yuugi so much.

Honestly, Yami was thinking the same. “How are you so certain he is dead?” She asked. There was never any news about his body being found somewhere. For all she knew he could be still living somewhere on the planet.

“I…I… I just know.” Yami said softly. Should he tell her?

“He was not your grandfather, was he?”

Yami shook his head. “Why did you lie to me Yami? Do you not trust me?” She asked softly, hurt in her voice. He said the same with what he told Ishizu. “I can’t tell you… yet.”

“Very well. I do not appreciate you lying to me… but if something is bothering or threatening you. You know you can always come to me. You can keep the album on condition that you tell me why you are so interested in Yuugi and why you protect him so much.” She said as she patted his head. Yami’s nod was barely noticeable. He closed the album and held it tightly to his chest.

Anzu had turned back to the boxes to sort them out. Millions of thoughts ran through his head. The one that returned was, why did he protect Yuugi so much? Should he go to the house this evening? He would surely miss school again if he went this night. His midterms were also on the way. It was best he went the next Sunday.

Anzu finished going through the boxes in silence. The two did not say a word to the other the entire time, both in too wrapped up in their thoughts. She closed the last box and wrote down what was inside with a black marker.

“Yami.” She called to break the silence. Yami looked up at her with a hum. “My last request is that you take these back up. He nodded and set to work. His body had rested enough while he was thinking so carrying them was a piece of cake.

When he went back to the kitchen after placing those boxes up, Anzu was already waiting for him with a steaming mug of tea and a piece of chocolate and banana cake. He smiled immediately and took the plate from her with a couple words of gratitude.

The atmosphere was back to normal by the time they were eating cake and drinking tea. Jounouchi had actually decided to drop by, after all the work was done for a piece of cake as well. Yami had punched him in the arm for coming after all the hard work was done but Anzu took a little bit of revenge on him. Jounouchi was given the task to vacuum up the dust the boxes brought with them.

Yami was being very uncooperative when he did not lift his feet from the floor. Jounouchi noticed that Yami was sitting on the edge of the couch. So he picked the smaller teen up and placed him down so he was leaning completely to the back of the couch. This caused his feet to be a couple inches off the floor.

Yami man-pouted as Jounouchi vacuumed under his feet with sniggers.

With a ‘thank you’ they both left the house of the elder woman and went to Yami’s. It was late but not their bedtime yet. Jounouchi plopped down on the couch and regarded Yami.

“Tell me, what did you find out?”

Yami sat down next to him, more sophisticated. “Actually, just at Anzu-baachan’s I found out more.” Yami said. Jounouchi sat up straight and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “He used to be a friend of Anzu-baachan.”

Jounouchi looked at him with his mouth agape. “You’re kidding me.” Yami shook his head and started telling Jounouchi all he found out and showing him the photos in the album Anzu had given him. The blond looked at a picture where the boy was smiling widely, holding a big sunflower in his hands.

“How did you say he looked like the ghost again?” Jounouchi asked.

“He was crying non-stop, had a couple stab wounds and wears blue pajamas with yellow stars on them. Jounouchi hummed as he started imagining the boy as Yami described. Then he shook his head. “I just can’t see him like that. He looks so happy-go-lucky.”

Yami nodded. “Yeah, I still don’t believe that he was the one who murdered his own grandfather, he looks so innocent.”

“I wouldn’t say that Yami, it’s always the silent ones who snap and attack.”

“I don’t know, something is fishy. If he did in fact murder the man, then why were there so many stab wounds on them. One would make their own death as fast and painless as possible.” He took the album from Jounouchi and pointed to the shoulder of Yuugi. “He was stabbed here once.” Then his finger moved over to the abdomen. “And twice in the stomach. There were also several small cuts on his arms and sides.”

Jounouchi hummed. “Maybe… he was killed after someone found out he did it?” He suggested. Yami shrugged his shoulders, not quite believing it. “Murdering someone because they murdered, that doesn’t really make sense.” Yami argued.

“All this doesn’t make sense!” Jounouchi exclaimed as he waved his arms around for emphasis. Yami sighed, he had had enough for one day. He closed the album and shoved it under his bed, next to his collector’s album.

“So how did your first day of work go?” Jounouchi asked. He was there only in the morning for a short while. “Oh, it was amazing. Everyone came for advice and Yamaoka-san told me that he had made great profit. So I’m probably staying. He also gave me the last Battle Pack booster as a bonus.” He said showing the booster pack.

“Why haven’t you opened it yet?” Jounouchi asked as he snatched away the booster pack from Yami’s hand. “Since I had promised Anzu-baachan to help her clean the attic I went straight to bed after dinner yesterday.” He said as he gently pried the pack out of Jounouchi’s hands.

He gently opened it and took out the cards. Yami said nothing as he stared at the cards in his hands. Jounouchi got a bit impatient so leaned closer to the vertically challenged teenager to look over his shoulder and gasped.

Yami’s hands were trembling as he held the cards. The middle card was the one that had astonished to two boys. In his hands, Yami held The God of Obelisk.

“Guess you’ll have to go on a date with Bakura after all.” Jounouchi commented. Yami didn’t even retort, he could not believe he actually got all three god cards. Perhaps it was only a bluff that there were only one made of each. But then again, Marik had bought a lot of display boxes in hopes to get the god cards.

“So… are you going to tell Pegasus?” Jounouchi asked. Yami bend over to get the collector’s album from underneath his bed. He flipped to the page with the other two cards and slipped it into a vacant sleeve next to the other two.

“I think not. If there really are just one of each of these made, I’d not make it public. I mean, there are a lot of crazy obsessed people who would go to great lengths to get their hands on these.” He said as he slapped the album close and placed it back to its hiding place. “Yeah, that is true. But… how will you play with them if you’re going to keep them secret?” Jounouchi had jumped of the bed they were sitting on and headed to the living room.

Yami followed the blond and shrugged his shoulders. “I think I’m not going to use them. I mean, you can easily win duels with the three of them and that takes the fun out of the game for both me and my opponents.”

“Yeah, I’d be pretty pissed if I was beaten before I could even make a move.” Jounouchi agreed.

Jounouchi walked to the door. “I need to go now. I’ll leave you alone so you can go ahead and plan out that date with Bakura.” Jounouchi said as he left. Yami ran to the door. “I’m only asking once and if he declines then that’s that!” Yami shouted before the blond was out of view.

Jounouchi held up his hand in a sign that he had heard and continued walking without looking back. Yami closed the door and went back to boot up his computer. He typed out everything Anzu had told him and saved it. He did not want to forget anything and it kind of made him feel like a detective which was pretty awesome.

After he was done with that, he prepared for bed. He had school the next day after all. He needed all the mental energy he could muster to ask Bakura out on a date.

The following morning, he was walking on the school courtyard. Today he was receiving a lot of weird looks from his fellow students. Sennen Yami was on time.

He spotted Jounouchi, Marik and Bakura standing by the gate. He walked over and took a deep breath before confronting them. “Bakura!” He called walking over to them. Marik watched wide-eyed as the short spiky haired teen neared them. “Oh no! Bakura he’s on time! Bad omen! Save me!!!” He yelled as he hugged the other male.

Bakura pried off the taller tanned teenager off of him. “What is it?” He asked Yami, who was looking at Marik with a deadpan expression on his face. He then looked back at the white-haired male when he heard the question. Jounouchi was already sniggering in his fist in the background, knowing well what was going on.

“W-Would you… l-like… togoonadatewithme.”

“What?” Bakura asked annoyed as he did not understand the rambling. Yami sighed. “Would you like to go on a date with me.” He said more slowly. Marik and Jounouchi burst out laughing as both Yami and Bakura blushed slightly.

“What?! No! Ew!” Bakura immediately spat. Yami sighed of relief.

“W-why would you even ask him out in the first place?” Marik asked between gasps of air. Jounouchi walked over to Yami and wrapped his arm around the shorter boy’s shoulders. “Yami here, had said that he’d go out on a date with Bakura if he got Obelisk. And guess what he got yesterday?”

Even though they were delinquents, they were not stupid. “You got Ra and Obelisk?!” Bakura hissed, putting emphasis on the word ‘and’. “Well actually… I got Osiris as well. Just haven’t told you two yet.”

Marik sank to his knees. “What do you have that I don’t have?!” He cried out. Marik loved the three Egyptian god cards since it was from his nationality. “I don’t know.” Yami said with a shrug of his shoulders. Just then, the school bell rang. The students piled into their respective classrooms before the homeroom teacher walked in.

Yamada-sensei walked in and the class stood up and bowed before sitting again. Yamada-san did the attendance like usual. Yami frowned, his name was skipped.

“Sensei.” He called as he rose up his hand.

“Yes Sennen-san?” He said as he looked at the boy. The teacher felt weird. Something was off today.

“You skipped over my name.” Yami said. Then the teacher realized. “You’re on time.” He stated. Yami nodded. The teacher was slightly flustered, this was a very rare occasion. “Good for you Sennen-san, I hope that this will not me a onetime thing.” He said as he started class. It would be for the best if he did not get his hopes up.

At the end of the school day, Yami returned home, after saying his goodbye to his friends and went straight home. They had received a lot of homework for math and he wanted to get it done this time. He had gotten back the previous homework, only to see that he had solved the half he made all wrong.

The sight that greeted him at the front door, was not a good one. There was a single police car parked there, police tape was blocking his front door and the door in question was opened up wide. He could swear he locked it when he left. He hurried over to an officer who was talking with his neighbor.

“What happened?” He asked. The police officer shrugged him off, seeing him as just a curious bystander. “Nothing to see here, moving along.” He had said. Yami impatiently tapped his foot. “Yes there is something to see here, that is my house!” He screamed as he pointed to the open door.

“Oh.” Was the genius response of the officer. “Someone has broken in.” He said simply. Yami did not wait for what more the officer had to say. He sprinted to the door, ripping the tape away as he rushed inside.

There was one more officer inside. “Can I help you?” She asked after she saw the panicked look on his face. “W-what happened?” Yami’s voice was trembling. “Someone broke in I’m afraid. They were quick to escape. My colleagues chased them but they have lost them. However it seems like there was nothing of value stolen. The robber has not touched the living room, only the bedroom.”

Yami walked past her as he entered his own bedroom. The room was turned upside down. His closet was emptied, the clothes all thrown around and his duvet lay on the floor. His laptop was still on his desk, which was also completely cluttered.

“It’s best you do not touch anything in case he or she left fingerprints.” The officer said, having followed him. “Was there anything valuable here?” She asked, taking out a notepad and pen. Yami shook his head. “I have barely any money. The whole neighborhood knows that.” Yami said, his voice hoarse. “I see.” The woman said as she wrote it down. “Is there any way to contact your guardian?” She asked.

Yami again shook his head. “I live alone.” The woman nodded and wrote this down as well. A clicking sound came from the hallway. The officer turned to stop the newcomer, leaving Yami to look at his destroyed room.

“Yami!” The feminine voice called. Yami cringed, he knew that voice all too well and now she had a reason to kick him out. He did not answer or even turn, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Yami, as soon as I heard what had happened I came here. It is too dangerous to live alone right now. You can choose to either go to a foster home or you can stay at someone you know if they consent to it.” Yoshida said. “May I ask who you are?” The female officer asked, not happy at being ignored.

“Oh, excuse me for being rude. My name is Yoshida Akiko, I keep an eye out on Yami.” She said as she held out her hand. They shook hands. “I am officer Zebuko Kou. It is indeed the best for him to stay elsewhere. The lock to the front door has been broken and the offender may come back armed.”

Yami bit his lip. Things were not looking bright for him. “Come Yami, I am sure we will find a nice family for you to stay with.” She said soothingly. Yami’s feet were rooted to the floor. He did not want to leave his only home.

Yoshida forcefully dragged him along. Yami pulled himself free from Yoshida and returned to his room. “Let me just grab something.” He said softly, defeated. He sat down on his knees by the bed and groped around for his collectors album and the photo album.

But they were not there anymore. He searched frantically, his breathing quickening. “It’s gone!” He screamed as he looked under. “It’s gone!” He repeated over and over again. The officer now known as Kou kneeled down by him, rubbing his back to calm him down.

“What is gone?” She asked softly. Yami started hyperventilating as hot tears trailed from his eyes down his cheeks. “My- my c-collec-tor’s album a-and a photo al-bum.” He said in between sobs. “Come one Yami, those things are not so important. You can always buy new cards.” Yoshida said. Yami stood up and whirled around.

“You don’t know anything!” He screamed and ran out. Yoshida reached out to him but he was already gone. “You know, they may not be valuable but sometimes they might have a great emotional value.” Kou scolded. Yoshida sighed as her shoulders slumped. She had screwed up with Yami again. All she wanted was for him to be safe.

Yami ran and ran, not looking where he was going. He was stopped when he bumped into someone. “Sorry.” He said, face looking down and shaded by his hair. “It’s quite all right. Now if you would like to help me up…” The voice prompted. Yami recognized the voice and looked at the person he bumped into.

“Anzu-baachan.” He called and immediately helped the elder woman up. “What is the matter Yami?” She asked worriedly as soon as she saw Yami’s tearstained cheeks and bloodshot eyes. Yami broke down again and buried his face in the shoulder of the elder woman.

“They have broken in and taken all my cards and the photo album you gave me. And now Yoshida is kicking me out.” The words were muffled. “Oh Yami my dear, that is awful! Where are you going then?” She asked as he soothingly rubbed his back. Unlike the officer’s, Anzu’s backrub did calm him down a bit. “She said a foster family.” He answered.

“Nonsense!” Anzu exclaimed. “You will come and live with me.”


	7. Ask the Expert

Anzu took Yami back to his home, where the police officers were finishing up and preparing to leave. They had barricaded the door so no one else could go in and reattached the police tape that Yami had ungracefully ripped off.

Yoshida was also still there, talking with officer Kou. She spotted Yami and relief washed over her face. “Yami! You had me worried, never run off like that again!” She scolded. Yami just ignored her, not feeling like dealing with the woman at the moment.

Anzu spoke up for him. “You can’t blame him. He was just robbed, do you know how traumatic that can be? And then you also kick him out of his home!” The corner of Yami’s lips twitched at hearing Anzu-baachan. Yoshida was going to get it.

“I-I am doing no such thing!” She replied flustered. “Well, you want to put him with a foster family. I see that as kicking him out.”

“No! This house is not safe anymore! All I want is for Yami to be safe.”

“If he was eighteen years old, would you care so much?” She asked. Yoshida shut up, because she knew it was true. The boy would be left all alone to fend for himself at that age. “Who are you anyways?” She asked to change the subject. “I am Otogi Anzu, Yami’s new guardian.” She stated proudly, already knowing she had won.

“What does she mean new guardian?” She asked Yami.

“She means that I am going to live with her.” Yami answered cockily. “What?” She asked, not believing this. “You did say that I could move in with someone I knew if they agreed to it.”

“And I agree.” Anzu added. Yoshida huffed and straightened her posture. “Very well. I will see if you are capable of taking care of him. Good day.” She said as she tried to leave with some dignity left. Yami and Anzu watched her leave.

“Did you always have to deal with her?” Anzu asked the teenager. “Yep.” He answered. Officer Kou had watched the exchange with amusement. She then walked up to Yami with a smile and handed him a key. “This is the key to the padlock that keeps the door closed.” She explained. Yami looked at the door and indeed there was a big lock there.

“The investigation is over so you can gather your stuff. I do recommend not going in for a while and replacing the lock with some more safety additions if you do move back in. I hope you may not have to deal with that woman again.” She said with a smile and left with her partner.

“Let’s go.” Anzu said as she held Yami’s arm and dragged him into the house after unlocking the padlock. Yami walked immediately to his room and started gathering his clothes, folding them neatly and placing them in a suitcase with the help of Anzu.

It hurt, just thinking he had lost all his beloved cards. The cards he had started collecting since he was five years old. The cards his father gave him. The god cards.

The god cards! They had broken in to obtain those! What else could they want? But then who could’ve done it? The only ones who knew he had them were Jounouchi, Bakura, Marik, Yamada-san and Anzu.

The first three had an alibi of being at school with him and Yamada-san and Anzu-baachan were too old to break in. Officer Kou had told him that the robber was quick to flee. The two of them could not even walk properly to flee the scene of a crime.

Could someone have overheard him when he told one of those persons? If that was the case, the suspect could be anyone!

He sighed as he folded up some black skinny jeans. “Why the depressed sigh?” She asked as she too folded his clothes. “I was just thinking, who might’ve done this. I know they came here for the god cards. But the people who know about them, couldn’t have done it. So it could be anyone.” Yami explained.

“Yes, maybe it was a coincidence?”

Yami shook his head. “There are so much more things in here more valuable than some trading cards. They came with my cards in mind. What I still haven’t figured out is why they also took the photo album you gave me.”

“Why they also took the album is beyond me.” Anzu agreed. “Maybe they saw some kind of value in it since it was so old?” She suggested. Yami shrugged his shoulders, not knowing the answer himself.

“For now, try and forget everything. Let’s get you settled in as soon as possible so you can rest up.” She said and continued packing in a faster pace. Soon all of Yami’s clothes and possessions were packed in various suitcases and boxes.

Yami had called Jounouchi and explained the situation to the blond. He came running to Yami as soon as he heard what had happened, immediately embracing his best friend. Yami hugged Jounouchi tightly and the two stood there for a little while.

A gentle tap on Yami’s shoulder broke the two apart. “We should get going before it gets too late.” She said. Yami nodded and picked up two of the heavier bags. Jounouchi too picked up heavy bags so there was only one light one left for Anzu to carry.

Before leaving his house, Yami reattached the padlock so hopefully nothing else would be stolen. With one last glance at his house, he left it. He actually didn’t mind living with Anzu, she was the nicest lady he had ever known. The thing that bothered him was that he would have less freedom and a harder time sneaking to the house of Yuugi.

Anzu-baachan would surely question him if he just told her he was going to an abandoned house in the middle of the night.

As they arrived to the house of the elderly, she assigned the guest bedroom as Yami’s new bedroom. If her grandchildren did decide to visit, they could go and sleep on the couch for all she cared. Jounouchi and Anzu helped Yami settle in. Anzu-baachan then left to make some calming tea for both boys.

After the woman left, Yami immediately filled Jounouchi in.

“Why the heck would they steal the photo album?” Jounouchi questioned. Yami shrugged his shoulders, also oblivious.

“I have no idea, there was nothing worthy in there, just photo’s really.”

“You think…. The thief had some kind of connection to the ghost?” Jounouchi whispered. Yami shrugged his shoulders again. “I have no idea. But I know they came specifically for my collector’s album.”

“Was your deck stolen too?” Jounouchi asked and bit his lip. Yami shook his head. “No, fortunately I had that one in my bag, same with the framed picture from the ghost’s house. Maybe that would’ve been stolen as well.”

Jounouchi sighed in relief. He knew how many hours and love Yami had put into his deck.

The blonds face darkened as a sudden idea came to his mind. “Yami… what if….” He trailed off. “What if, this happened because of like a curse?” Jounouchi suggested.

“What do you mean curse?”

“What was his name again? Yuusei?”

“Yuugi.” Yami corrected

“Oh yeah, right. What if Yuugi like cursed you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous Jou, why would he do that? I am helping him.”

Jounouchi shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe the whole crying thing was a ruse, to lure you into his curse. Why else would his own pictures be stolen?”

“Jounouchi, he doesn’t know who he is….” Yami hated how he sounded so unsure.

“I suggest you don’t go there anymore.”

“Go where anymore?” Anzu asked with a tray in her hands. Yami dropped everything he held and took the tray from the elderly ladies hands, setting it on his new desk and pouring in the tea, to avoid answering the question.

“To go to public bathrooms, they are icky and could make our little Yami sick.” Jounouchi answered smoothly. Yami turned and stared at the blond with a deadpan expression.

“Why do I have a feeling you’re lying to me?” Anzu chuckled.

“No I’m serious! Once I was in the school’s bathroom and there was this goo on the floor, I-mph” Jounouchi was cut off as Yami slapped a hand in front of his mouth.

“Too much information.”

Jounouchi chuckled sheepishly. Anzu giggled at the antics of the two boys. Things would surely be lively with Yami around. After talking and cheering Yami up some more, Anzu shooed Jounouchi home, telling him it was getting late and that they had school the next day.

Yami was slowly getting accustomed to living with Anzu. He did not have to cook anymore and bills weren’t a problem. He didn’t even get late anymore since Anzu-baachan would give him a good whooping if he decided to lie in for ‘five more minutes’.

They received a new classmate, by the name of Bakura Ryou. Not only did he share a name with Bakura, he also looked like the delinquent. He had long white hair, just not as wild as Bakura’s. His eyes were rounder and softer looking than the other’s.

Yami eyed Bakura when Ryou introduced himself. Dare he say that Bakura looked smitten?

Was Bakura even gay?

All he knew was that Bakura stared at the other boy, mouth wide, drool flowing like a streaming river. The white haired male had pushed the poor boy next to his own desk off of his chair to make space so Ryou would be able to sit next to him, to his annoyance, the teacher got angry and Ryou got to sit in an empty desk in the back of the class.

Yami and Jounouchi had exchanged strange glances. Marik was pouting, afraid to lose his partner in crime. During break, Bakura had dragged Ryou to their desks. They had found out that Ryou was just as big an occult freak as Bakura was. Birds of a feather flock together.

It was Sunday and Yami had the day off. He was actually hesitating whether to visit Yuugi or not. What if what Jounouchi said was true? But he did promise Yuugi… and he was a man of his word. It was afternoon and he wasn’t sure if the little ghost would even be there. Every time he visited it was quite late in the night.

“Stupid promise.” He muttered and sat upright on the bed. He made sure that he had his gathered information and the framed picture within his messenger bag before getting up and going into the living room. Anzu-baachan was knitting something in her rocking chair.

“Anzu-baachan, I am going out for a while.” He announced. The elder woman looked up from her knitting and frowned at Yami. “It is already late in the afternoon, where are you going?” She asked. Yami cursed inwardly, this is why he wanted to keep living alone. He disliked it when people were sticking their noses into his business, doesn’t matter how much he likes that person.

“I am going to work on a project with Jounouchi.” He lied smoothly. “Since I had to work yesterday, I didn’t have the time or energy to work on it.”

“Oh, will it take long?” She asked, continuing to knit. “Probably, I might not come home for dinner so don’t wait for me. If I’m really late, don’t wait up.”

“Call me when it gets really late okay?” She said.

“Kay.” Yami answered as he walked out. He quickly walked out of the door and to his former house. He unlocked the bicycle he still kept there and started on his way to the house.

Like last time, Yami just left it there on the overgrown grass. Not that it would be stolen or something. He entered the house, to his confusion, the door was already open. He cautiously proceeded into the house.

The ground level was empty, he had checked the kitchen, living room and dining room but there was no one there. Thinking he was just being paranoid, he ascended the stairs.

Then he heard voices.

There were two of them, both male and sounding muffled. Yami crept up the stairs on his tiptoes to make as less sound as possible and hid behind the door of the room they were in. It was Yuugi’s room.

“But I don’t see any ghosts.” One of the voices said. It sounded disappointed and very familiar.

“Hmm… Last time I was here I didn’t see anything either, but he insisted he saw something.” The other voice said. Now that voice he recognized.

“Bakura?” Yami whispered. What in the hell was Bakura doing here?

“Anyway, let’s go. Maybe the ghost will come out at nightfall or something.” Bakura said and footsteps approached Yami.

_“Shit.”_

If he ran away, his footsteps would attract attention and there was nowhere to hide in time. Bakura left Yuugi’s room and immediately stopped when he saw Yami being pressed up against the wall.

“What are you doing here?” He asked bluntly.

“Who?!” Ryou came out of the room, his voice eager, just like his expression. It fell when he saw it was Yami. “Oh, hello Yami-kun.” He greeted with a small smile.

“What are YOU doing here?” Yami retorted childishly.

“Don’t answer my question with a question.” Bakura spat. Ryou rolled his eyes. “We were searching for the ghost you saw that one time.” Ryou answered.

“How do you know?” Yami asked. But then looked at the grinning Bakura. Of course.

“That makes me come back to my question, what are you doing here? Last time you left this house you were pissing your pants.”

He knew it, Bakura would never let him live it down. “I am uhm….” Yami trailed off. He rummaged in his bag. “I came here to return this picture I took the other day. It’s been giving me nightmares.” He said and shoved it into Bakura’s hands. “You put it back because I am not going back into that room.” He added.

Bakura rolled his eyes but did as he was told. As the taller and wilder white haired male left, Yami looked at Ryou. “Why are you together with Bakura?” He asked casually. Ryou smiled. “We’re on a date.” Yami coughed as he accidently chocked on his own spit.

“You’re gay?” Yami asked with disbelieve. Ryou nodded. “Yeah, got a problem with that?” Bakura, who returned from the room, threatened gruffly. Yami shook his head and smiled. “No problem, I am too.”

Bakura stared at Yami, mouth agape. Then he grabbed Ryou and pulled him to his chest. “Good for you, that does explain a lot… with rejecting all girls and all… but Ryou’s mine!” Bakura growled. Yami laughed and shook his head. “Ryou, you are really cute, but I know that the two of you were made for each other, so no worries.”

Ryou and Bakura both had a pink hue on their cheeks and looked away from Yami and each other.

“Sh-sh-sh-shut up.” Bakura murmured. Wow, Yami had made Bakura blush and stutter. He had it bad.

“Anyways, let’s get out of here, this place is giving me the creeps.” Yami said as a shudder ran down his spine.

“Well, me and Bakura were planning on going to eat something. Wanna come? I wanna know all about the ghost you saw that night!” Ryou said eagerly. Yami could swear he saw twinkles in the brown eyes of Ryou. The two really were a match made in heaven.

“But Ryouuuu.” Bakura whined. “I wanted some alone time with you.”

“Sush, I want to hear all about it.” Ryou said. Bakura backed away with a not-pout. He had it REAL bad.

“Uhm… I guess?” Yami answered reluctantly. He did not really want to be a third wheel.

“Neat!” Ryou yelled and grabbed Yami’s hand, dragging the short teen down the stairs. “Wait for me!” Bakura yelled as he ran after his potential boyfriend and his date-interfering friend. Unbeknownst to them, a lone spirit watched them leave from his hiding place, the words spoken from his only hope, stabbing him in his chest.

They arrived to Burger World soon after, were seated and had ordered.

“Tell me, in all details what you saw.”

Ryou had that eager look on his face again and was holding Yami’s hands. Bakura was shooting daggers at him from opposite him. Yami gently pried his hands from the other male’s and laid them down on his lap.

“Uhm let’s see… he was very young, was crying non-stop, had a couple of stab wounds”

“Where?” Ryou interrupted. He had taken out a notepad and was writing down everything Yami told.

“One in the shoulder and a couple in his belly.” Yami answered.

“What else?”

“His hair looked almost like mine, his eyes were a light purple and uhm… he was wearing light blue pajamas with yellow stars scattered around. Oh yeah! And he had no feet.” Yami described.

Bakura looked at him funnily. “Are you sure you just got a glimpse of him? This is quite accurate.” He said. Yami gulped silently. “He reached out to me and I was frozen on the spot at that moment. His eyes looked so dead and empty that it is kind of hard to forget.” Yami defended.

Bakura shrugged his shoulders and sipped from his drink which was brought over earlier.

“Around what age?” Ryou asked, still writing everything.

“Sixteen.” Yami answered without hesitation, he assumed the day Yuugi disappeared as his death day. Bakura and Ryou looked at him again. His answer sounded too sure.

“Okay, anything else that was weird?” Ryou asked, sticking a fry in his mouth.

Yami thought for a moment before answering this time. There was something about the ghost that had bothered him indeed. “Yes, there is actually. He was wearing a dog collar.”

“Maybe he was a slave or a pet or something like that?” Bakura suggested, starting to devour his hamburger.

“Maybe.” Yami said with a shrug of his shoulders. _“Nope, you’re completely wrong.”_

Ryou wrote some more things down before stabbing the paper for his final dot.

“Can I see?” Yami asked as he reached out to take the notepad. Ryou nodded and gave it to Yami and picked up his own hamburger, eating it more sophisticatedly.

Yami skipped his own description and went to Ryou’s conclusion.

_“Murder weapon was probably a knife. No vitals hit, so bled to death? Yami sounded very sure of the age of the spirit, was killed when he was asleep or preparing to sleep. Was probably a slave._

_Where is the murder weapon and where is the body? What is the name of the victim and why was he killed in the first place.”_

Yami frowned, these were all the questions, except for the name, that he searching the answer of. “Ryou… what do you mean by he was killed when he was asleep or preparing to sleep?” Yami asked.

Ryou quickly chewed and swallowed the bite he still had in his mouth. “The spirit appears in the clothes they were murdered in. So since he was wearing pajama’s he was probably sleeping. If one is murdered while naked, they will appear naked.” Ryou explained.

“How do you know so much? Why are you even interested in ghosts so much?” Yami asked. He was slightly creeped out by the innocent and sweet looking boy. Ryou smiled but it was sad. “It’s the only connection I have left of my departed little sister.” He told.

“Oh.” Was the genius response of Yami. “Have you ever…. Seen a ghost before?” He asked a bit reluctantly. The sad smile was still on his face as Ryou nodded.

“Yes, I have seen Amane’s spirit. She wanted to say goodbye to me before she passed.”

“Ryou.” Yami said immensely serious. “What could the reasons be that a spirit can’t rest?”

Ryou pursed his lips as he thought. Yami’s gaze slid to Bakura’s glaring eyes for a split second. He could clearly tell that the male was incredibly annoyed that he was here disturbing his date at the moment but he was talking to an expert right now and maybe Ryou held the answer to Yuugi’s passing.

“Uhm can have several reasons actually. It could be because the body isn’t properly buried, because they have regrets, because they want revenge, because there is something they need to do… and a couple more reasons I can’t think of right now.” Ryou answered.

Yami groaned and leaned against the bench of their boot. So he would just have to find out more about Yuugi and his death to help him pass.

“What’s with all these questions?” Bakura questioned with suspicion.

“What about a name? Is it usual they have amnesia?” Yami asked, ignoring Bakura. Ryou shook his head. Spirit’s will forget themselves when people dear to them forget them. Those are the ones who usually never find peace. If the ones close to them die before remembering them, they will simply roam the world forever.”

Yami groaned again, louder. Of course, everyone tried to forget about Yuugi after they thought he had murdered his own grandfather!

“If you are wondering, if remembering who they are will bring them peace, it won’t. However, it is necessary for them to remember who they are, or else they won’t be able to go into heaven.” Ryou answered the question in Yami’s mind.

“Great.” Yami muttered.

“But I am curious as well…. Why do you ask all this?” Ryou asked. But then, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. He figured out why Yami was asking all this!

Ryou pointed an accusing finger at Yami, his mouth open, trying to form words.

“You are helping him!” He exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, I was actually able to finish this chapter today...


	8. Cat’s out of the Bag

The whole food court looked at the booth the three were sitting at. Ryou was completely oblivious but Bakura and Yami were a little uneasy because of all the attention their table was getting.

Bakura pulled Ryou back a little, since the boy had half climbed on the table when he accused Yami of helping the ghost. Slowly the other customers of Burger World turned to their own meal and chattered away with their own companions.

Yami looked around for some eavesdroppers and leaned closer to the other two.

“Yes I help him. He was crying and pleading and I need to learn to say no.” He hissed.

“Why didn’t you say it earlier?” Ryou sounded extremely disappointed and hurt. “I don’t know, it’s weird to tell people I am talking and helping a ghost. Before you know it they will throw me in the loony bin.”

“Eh, maybe.” Ryou agreed. Bakura stared at his potential boyfriend. “What? My dad forced me to talk with a psychiatrist after I told him I talked with Amane’s spirit.”

“Don’t worry, I will never let mean people take you away.” Bakura said as he wrapped his arms around Ryou’s shoulder and pulled the smaller male against his chest.

“Why wasn’t the ghost there when we visited?” Ryou asked, his cheeks stained red, voice slightly muffled from being pressed up against Bakura’s chest.

“He told me Bakura scared him.”

Ryou laughed out loud and Bakura grumbled. Yami smiled too and stood up.

“Where are you going?” Ryou asked as he pulled away from Bakura’s embrace. “I have some business to do and I don’t want to be a third wheel during your date.” He said, looking at Bakura as he said the last part.

Bakura nodded approvingly. “But I have more questions!” Ryou whined. “Don’t worry, I will see you at school tomorrow anyways.” Yami reassured. “Have fun.” He said and left the restaurant, his food almost untouched.

The wilder white haired male took dibs on Yami’s burger and started devouring that one as well. Ryou sulked slightly at first but his sour mood was lifted fast as he started hogging Yami’s fries and leaned against Bakura again. Yami would not be left alone the next day at school.

Yami, was back peddling towards the house. Like the other times, he just left his bike in the front yard and opened the door. He climbed up the stairs and stopped.

There was no more sobbing, the small spirit was wailing. Yami frowned, what could’ve happened that made the spirit so upset? Maybe it was because he returned the photo? Oh shit! Could he have heard what Yami was saying when Bakura and Ryou were there.

He knocked on the door, but it got drowned out by the bawling on the other side. He pushed the door open slowly, seeing the ghost of Yuugi on the bed, the blanket was again half on the floor, the spirit sitting on the bed like usual. But instead of hugging his knees like Yami found him the previous times, he was sitting on his knees, back arched, head thrown back and weeping. Tears were streaming down his face as he cried. More than usual.

“Hey.” Yami said awkwardly. “Please stop crying.”

This grabbed the attention of the ethereal boy and the wailing diminished to gasps and sobs. The eyes widened and the boy flew off the bed and towards Yami. He came at such a speed, that Yami was startled and backed away till his back it the wall of the hallway.

He closed his eyes shut, waiting for some sort of pain or being possessed but it never came. All he felt was icy cold, hugging him. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the spirit attached to his chest. He was hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. The feeling was weird, he knew Yuugi was there, yet he didn’t really feel him. It was a very paranoid feeling Yami decided. He even felt his shirt get a little wet.

He had thought that he made the spirit angry by not coming for a while and then pretending he wasn’t there. He assumed that the ghost wanted to hurt him or possess him when he flew right at him.

“I-I.” Yuugi started. “I though y-y-you wouldn’t c-come back.” He sobbed.

“I’m sorry.” He said as he awkwardly petted the hair of the little ghost. “I had to say those things to deceive my friends.” He told as he slowly hugged the spirit back.

“B-but, you t-took so l-long.” The spirit continued sobbing. Yami was feeling his shirt getting wet.

“Yeah, it took me a little while to find some information. And I can’t come during the week because I have school and I also just got a job and my house got robbed.” Yami sighed.

Yuugi loosened his grip on him and looked up at Yami. “That’s horrible….” He said as he let go completely and pulled back.

“Yeah, some precious things were stolen.” He answered, not telling Yuugi about the photo album. “Are you all right?” The spirit asked in concern. “Yeah, someone I know has taken me under their wing.”

“That’s good.” The spirit said as he floated back into the room and resumed sitting on the bed. “How have you been” Yami asked as he too reentered the room and took a seat on the floor.

“Lonely.” Yuugi answered with a sigh and a sob.

“Well, I have good news for you.” Yami said with a smile. Yuugi looked down at him and wiped his never-ending tears with the sleeve of his pajama top.

“I found out your name.” Yami said with a smile. The face of the spirit lit up.

“Your name is Yuugi. Mutou Yuugi.”

“Yuugi….” The spirit repeated to taste the name on his tongue.

“I like it.” He said with a smile and sob. “Glad you do.” Yami said and stood up. He took the framed picture from the nightstand where Bakura placed it and showed it to Yuugi.

“You said these people were important to you, because he was your grandfather and they were your parents.” Yami explained as he pointed to the person.

“Oh…” Yuugi said as he looked at them.

“Where are they?” Was that uncertainty in his voice?

“They’re dead Yuugi.”

“Oh.” The boy said again and hugged his knees. “I guess it was to be expected.” He then muttered. There was a silence between them before the spirit opened his mouth again to talk. “Do you know how long… I’m like this?”

Yami shook his head. “Not exactly… but I do know, well I assume that you died at the age of sixteen since you disappeared then and were never really… found.

“My body?” Yuugi asked, looking at Yami. “Uhm, I don’t know.” Yami said biting his lower lip.

Yuugi floated from the bed and sat next to Yami. It was the teenager’s reflexes just to crawl back a couple inches away from him. Yuugi looked hurt at this. “You startled me.” Yami told. Yuugi nodded but sat a bit further from Yami anyways.

“Can you tell me more about my family?” He asked softly.

“Sure, I don’t know too much though…. Let’s see, you parents had already passed when you were still alive so your grandfather took care of you. I don’t know anything else about your parents but your grandfather was an archeologist.” He told.

“Really?” Yuugi asked in awe. Yami nodded with a smile. “He was specialized in Ancient Egypt.”

“What happened to him?” Yuugi asked. Yami bit his lip again, should he tell?

“Yuugi…. I don’t know whether to tell this or not.”

The little spirit stared at him, incredibly curious now. “They think… you were the one who murdered your own grandfather.” Yami told after a moment of indecision.

Yuugi lowered his head and hugged his knees again. “I… did?”

Yami stood up and violently shook his head. “I don’t believe it! Just because you disappeared the same day as that Mutou Sugoroku died, does not make you the murderer!” Yami exclaimed. Yuugi was taken aback by the sudden passion and fell over to his back. He stared up at Yami in a lying position and smiled.

“Thank you.” He whispered, wiping his eyes of the escaped tears again.

Yami resumed sitting on the floor next to Yuugi, the latter sitting up again. “But one of my friends told me a couple things about spirits unable to find peace.” Yami started as he rubbed his chin. “Maybe your body isn’t buried properly, you may have regrets, or want revenge or there is something you still need to do.”

Yuugi hummed as he racked his brain for information, but like usual, it was all blank. With a shuddering sigh, he shook his head. “I don’t know anything.”

“Maybe… we could first try and find your body?” Yami suggested. Yuugi nodded and looked at Yami expectantly. It made the teenager feel uneasy.

“But then again… I assumed you were murdered, what if… your body has been… destroyed?” Yami said slowly.

Yuugi shook his head this time. “It hasn’t.” He said confidently. “I know it’s here somewhere… but I don’t know exactly where….”

“And you’re telling me this just now because?” Yami prompted, with a roll of his wrist.

“I forgot.” Yuugi said in a small voice.

Yami sighed and stood up. It was already past dinner time and Anzu-baachan was probably waiting for him anyways. “Look Yuugi, I have to go now. I will come back next week to look for your hopefully completely decomposed body and maybe I might even find more information.

Yuugi too stood up and held Yami’s arm. Yami looked down at the pleading look of the little spirit. He reached Yami’s chin even when floating a little above the ground. “Please don’t leave me.” He pleanded.

“I… have to.” Yami said reluctantly.

“Just a little bit longer. Please just play a game with me!” The spirit pleaded even more desperately. Yami sighed in defeat and sat back down. “One game.” He said firmly.

One game of chess turned into 6 out of 10 and that turned into 9 out of 17. Yami had found that Yuugi was a formidable opponent, unlike Jounouchi. He was actually having fun playing with the small spirit. The little boy was smiling as well, even though the tears were still rolling down his cheeks.

Yami’s eyes widened once he looked at his watch again. It was just a little past midnight.

“Check.” Yuugi said with a smile as he trapped Yami’s king with his queen. Yami stood up abruptly, accidently knocking the chessboard and pieces to the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Yuugi asked with a pout. He knew what was wrong.

“It’s really, really late. I had a lot of fun Yuugi, but I really have to go now. I promise I will come back, okay?” Yami said. He didn’t wait for an answer and descended the stairs, skipping a few steps in his hurry. Yuugi just went through the floor and waited till Yami reached the living room.

“Bye.” He said sadly as he watched the living teenager leave his home. Yami turned once and waved before slamming the door shut. Yuugi went over to a window that wasn’t nailed shut and watched as Yami picked up his bike and started riding away.

He sighed as he hung his head and went back to his own room, to resume crying his days away.

Like Yami had expected, Anzu was indeed waiting up for him.

“Yami, I was starting to think you weren’t coming back.” She said with a relieved smile. Yami smiled sheepishly back at her. “I told you it could be late.”

“Well, did you make progress on your project?” She asked.

Yami nodded and yawned. “But now I’m really tired, I should go to sleep.” He said quickly and evaded more questions. Anzu watched him disappear into his room. She shook her head as she retreated into her own room.

“Whatever that boy is doing, he better be safe.” She muttered silently and went to bed herself.

The following morning, Yami was immediately attacked by Ryou, asking all about Yuugi. With the help of Bakura and a promise to talk later, he got Ryou off of him. Jounouchi was sending him weird glances all the time.

He mouthed an ‘I’ll tell you later’ to the blond. The teacher came in and started the daily routine, still finding it weird that Yami was actually on time.

The English teacher was rattling on and on about what the writer meant why the curtain was described as red in the story. Yami rolled his eyes, maybe the writer just liked the color red? He soon droned her out and started thinking about Yuugi.

Maybe he could bring some different games, so they can play something different then only chess. The corners of his lips curled up at the thought of Yuugi’s face all happy and excited, without the tears. He liked seeing Yuugi smile.

“Sennen Yami!” The teacher yelled and slammed an old fashioned ruler on his desk. Yami gasped as the sound of the plastic hitting wood rang in his ears. The class erupted into chuckles and giggles. “Were you paying attention at all?” She reprimanded.

“Yes.” Yami said stubbornly.

“Then tell me, why had the author chosen to color the curtains red in the book?” She asked. “Because the author liked the color red.” He answered with a shrug of his shoulders. His classmates laughed again. “Wrong. It was to representation of the lust the protagonist was suppressing till she found her true love. It also gives a foresight of the deaths that will come.” The teacher explained passionately.

Yami looked at her with one of his eyebrows raised. That made no sense at all. “Or maybe he just liked red.” Yami muttered lowly. Unfortunately for him, the teacher heard.

“Go stand in the hallway till class is over.” She demanded, pointing to the door. Yami hauled himself out of his chair and slumped over to the door, not really caring. The English teacher slammed the door shut after he left with a huff.

Yami leaned against the wall as he waited for English class to pass. The smile returned to his lips as he resumed thinking. He had a couple board games like Mensch ärgere dich nicht, Game of the Goose, Scrabble, Monoply and Reversi from his childhood at his house.

Perhaps he could get Yuugi a starter deck of his own so they could play Duel Monsters…. He was sure the little ghost would be thrilled to try out new games. During their chess game, Yuugi had told him that he only had the broken toys to keep him busy and a board of chess and checkers. But of course, there was not much to do with those with just one player.

He looked forward to play these games with Yuugi, he was good at games. Beating Jounouchi, Bakura and Marik had gotten boring really fast. When playing chess, they were evenly matched. Yuugi really made Yami work for his victory. If only Yuugi were alive….

Yami sighed, Yuugi would have made an awesome friend if he were indeed still alive. But he wasn’t. He decided to better not get too attached to the spirit, he was helping him leave anyway. It would only hurt more if Yami got attached to him.

That evening when he got home, Anzu-baachan was watching the news. He dropped his bag in the hallway and plopped down next to her with a small greeting.

_“Yesterday evening, The Egyptian exhibit of Domino’s National History Museum was robbed. The six ancient Egyptian artifacts, knows as the Millennium Items, have gone missing. The objects were made of solid gold and were over 3000 years old. They were currently borrowed from the Egyptian government to show at the museum. Japan’s government is doing its best to compensate for the loss of these priceless items. Japan’s representative Ishizu Ishtar is currently negotiating with the Egyptian government._

_The burglar is still unknown. Despite the high security, they have managed to take the Items and get away without leaving so much of a trace. The police and forensic investigations are still ongoing, but as it seems now, no evidence was left. Live reporter Takakatta Yasui is at the scene of the crime.”_

The camera moved to the reporter who was about telling about the results of the investigation when Anzu-baachan turned off the television. “What has this world come to?” She sighed. Before Yami could say another thing, she left the room to go and prepare dinner for the two of them.

Yami, knowing he was on his own now, got intrigued by the Millennium Items again, so he looked up the report he and Jounouchi had written. They had received quite the mark for the report. He lied down on his bed and made a small sum of all the subjects had had written about.

“Made by sacrificing 99 human lives… were used by the pharaoh and his priests… were buried in the tomb of the nameless pharaoh… name turned out to be Atem… discovered by Mutou Sugoroku… owned by the Egyptian gov-.” Wait what? Yami paused reading as he shot up to a sitting position.

Mutou Sugoroku? How could he have skipped over that part?! Yuugi’s grandfather was the archeologist who had found these artifacts. He felt like such a fool for not remembering Sugoroku’s name!

He hit his own head with the report to repent for his foolishness. But this gave him more possibilities. Yuugi had told him that something important from him was taken. What if, his grandfather had like, something valuable form his dig that he decided to keep, and some fanatic wanted to steal it from him. So in order to get away unscathed, he first disposed of Sugoroku and then of Yuugi!

Yami grabbed his head as he fell back on his bed. This all was giving him a headache. After rubbing his temples a bit to sooth the pain, he went to confront Anzu.

“Anzu-baachan?”  He called as he stood at the threshold of the kitchen door.

“Yes my dear?”  She asked as she turned as much as she could while still being able to stir the soup. “Mutou Sugoroku was the person who found the Millennium Items that were stolen, right?”  He asked. Anzu nodded as she continued stirring.

“Did he keep one of the items for himself?”

Anzu was silent as she turned back to face her soup complete. “Yes.” She finally answered.

“What if, Mutou-san was murdered, by a thief who wanted that item, like the one on the news just now. After poisoning Mutou-san, he also killed Yuugi-san.” Yami suggested.

Anzu dropped the ladle in the pot of soup, making it splash on the oven a little. She turned around and looked at Yami with a stern look. “That is ridiculous. That person must be around the eighty years old or already dead maybe.” She retorted. “I never said they were the same person, it might be a person with similar obsessions. I mean, someone broke into my house for a couple of trading cards.” Yami said back. He was having a hard time to keep his voice calm. He did not want to yell at the woman who had given him food and a roof under his head. “Who knows, if I were home, I could’ve undergone the same fate as Yuugi.”

“Okay, Yami. Enough, why are you so obsessed by the boy.” Anzu’s hands were on her hip and it seemed like he was not getting out of this one this time. Well, the cat’s out of the bag.

“I have met Yuugi’s ghost.” He said while avoiding her gaze. Anzu was at his side in a couple of steps and put her hand on his forehead. “You are a little warm, perhaps the stress of everything is getting to you.”

Yami shook her hand off of his forehead. “No, I am not hallucinating. Bakura gave me this stupid dare to go into this haunted house, which was where Yuugi lived a while ago, he was crying all the time and asked me to help him and I felt sorry so I promised to help him pass on to the afterlife.” He said all in one breath.

Anzu stared at him, her eyes wide.

“You’re lying.”

Yami shook his head. “No Anzu-baachan. Yuugi died, the day he disappeared. He was stabbed a couple of times and bled to death.”

Anzu’s hand flew up to her mouth as her lips started trembling. Hot tears started running down her wrinkled cheeks as the guilt washed over her. She could not believe it. All this time, she was so angry at Yuugi, because she just assumed he had murdered someone, while he himself was the victim.

The feelings were too much. Her vision started swimming and she felt lightheaded. Then it all blacked out. “Anzu-baachan!” Yami screamed as he rushed over to catch the elder woman before she hit the floor. He carried her to the living room and laid her down on the couch. He quickly went over to the kitchen to turn down the fire of the stove so the soup wouldn’t overcook.

He fanned the elder woman with his report to cool down her body temperature. At least he didn’t have to worry about big bulky men dressed in white with a big needle and a straightjacket with his name on it….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, none of this is really beta'd.
> 
> Mensch ärgere dich nicht is a German game. I actually loved to play it when little, in Dutch it's called Mens erger je niet! According to Wikipedia, it's a game similar to Parcheesi, Trouble and Ludo. I have never really played those variants so that is why I used Mensch ärgere dich nicht


	9. Damn You Hormones

Anzu groaned as she regained her consciousness. Her sight showed a blurry Yami fanning her with a stack of papers. The boy immediately stopped waving the paper and threw it aside to help her sit up.

“Are you okay?” He asked as she was sat upright.

“Yes, just still a little bit lightheaded.” Anzu said as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the couch. Yami left the room and returned shortly after with a glass of water so the woman could rehydrate. Seems like the obligatory first-aid classes were handy after all.

“So Yuugi really did die when he was sixteen. That’s why you were so sure that he had passed away and not in hiding.” She said with a bitter smile. Yami nodded. “The sad thing is, he has not passed on. He does not even know who he is because everyone else has forgotten about him.”

“That’s horrible….”

Then Yami told her everything. From how Yuugi looked like to what Ryou had told him.

She looked quite worried after he had finished. “Yami… I don’t want you to see him anymore. It might be dangerous. You should never get involved with the supernatural.”

Yami sighed and shook his head. “I can’t… I promised. And I am a man of my word.”

“Then promise me you’ll not go anymore.” Yami stood up and turned his back to the elderly. “I don’t make promises that I won’t keep. He walked out into the hallway and shrugged on his jacket and grabbed his bag.

“Where are you going?” She asked from her spot on the couch.

“I just… want to be alone for a while.” He felt bad for going against the wishes of her, but Yuugi… needed him. He did not look where he was going, and let his feet take him to his destination.

It happened to be Yamaoka’s shop. To his surprise, the shop was closed. So he rang the bell to the door of the living area, which was located at the corner of the shop. He heard footsteps from inside and soon the door opened ajar, the elder man peeking out.

“Yami, my boy!” The man greeted and completely opened the door.

“Why is the shop closed?” Yami asked confused. The man sighed and let Yami in. The teenager was seated in the living room. “I wasn’t really up for it today.” The man told.

“Did something bad happen?” This time it was Yami’s turn to worry. “Did you see the news? The Millennium Items were stolen. Such a waste.” He said with the shake of his head. Yami agreed by nodding his head. “Yes, I have seen.”

“It makes me really worried. What if someone robs me? I could never part with my collection.” The man said as he gestured around the living room. The room was filled with tablets which had hieroglyphics carved on them, papyrus parchment scrolls; also with hieroglyphics written on them, statues, pots, urns and more similar items.

“You should watch out. Maybe have some security installed.” Yami suggested. The elder man pursed his lip and nodded his head as he thought. “Yeah, that might not be that bad an idea.” He said with a smile.

“Where did you get all this anyway?” Yami said as he inspected the stuff some more.

“Most of them I have gotten from auctions.” The man told. “I really had to fight for some of them.” He chuckled. Yami let out a couple chuckles of his own. “But tell me my boy, what brings you here? You looked quite distressed when you came here.”

Yami shrank in his seat and contemplated how he would tell the elder man.

“You see….” He started. “I have a… girlfriend. But Anzu-baachan told me to stay away from her because she thinks she is ‘bad news’. But I don’t want to stop seeing… her.”

“Ohohoho. So our little Yami has finally been hit by Cupid’s arrow.” The man teased. Yami blushed for some reason he did not know. “Well, the only advice I can give you is, follow your heart.” The elder man told with a smile.

Yami smiled back at him, his blush still bright on his cheeks. “Thank you Yamaoka-san, it felt good to talk to you.” Yami said gratefully. “It’s okay Yami, you know you can always tell me anything. So, when do we get to meet Mrs. Sennen Yami?” He teased again.

The blush brightened so Yami hid his face in his hands. “I am not ready to introduce her to the public yet.” He mumbled. The elder man laughed again. Yami stood up from his seat and smiled at the man. “I should probably return so Anzu-baachan doesn’t get too worried.”

“Yes, that would be the smartest thing to do. Send her my regards.”

“I will.” Yami said and left the house of the game shop owner. He stopped in front of his own house on his way back to Anzu’s. The idea he had at school came to mind, all the games he could play with Yuugi. As if he wasn’t in control of his own body, he marched to the door, unlocked the padlock and gathered the games he had in mind and put them all in a big bag.

Before he knew it, he was dropping his bike on the overgrown grass. “Yuugi?” Yami called as he slowly pushed open the door to the little ghost’s bedroom. But he wasn’t there. Yami dropped the bag to the floor.

“Yuugi?” He called out a bit louder.

“Yami?”

The boy gasped as he turned around. Yuugi was standing in front of the closed door of the room across. “You startled me.” Yami said as he held his heart. “Sorry, didn’t mean to.” Yuugi smiled and floated back into the room.

He sat down on the floor. “Is something the matter? You look troubled.” Yami sighed as he too sat down, was he so obvious? He would need to learn to be more stoic. “I just needed to get away from everything, the stress was getting to me.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting away from me too? I mean… I’m a cause of the stress.” Yuugi said uncertainly. Yami smiled and shook his head. “No, I like spending time with you. I feel like I can be myself.”

A blush crept up Yami’s cheek after he realized what he said. “R-really?” Yuugi stuttered. He was sure, that if Yuugi had blood in his system, he too would blush. Yami quickly rubbed his cheeks to get rid of the redness.

“A-anyway! I brought some games!” He said loudly in embarrassment. “Really!” Yuugi said as he crawled closer. This time, Yami did not flinch. He was getting used to the unexpected movements of the small ghost. Yami pulled out the first game in his haste to change the subject and it was Game of the Goose.

“I know this game!” Yuugi said enthusiastically, his tear-brimmed eyes full of bliss. It was a weird picture. It reminded him when he was still just a toddler, he and Jounouchi were taken to a McDonalds, there were these slides covered by tubes outside. They had climbed up to the top but suddenly Yami was scared to go down, so Jounouchi pushed him down. He started crying but realized he liked it, so was crying and laughing at the same time. People around him though it was adorable then…..

Does that mean Yuugi is adorable too? Yeah, Yuugi is adorable. Wait what! Yami shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Something wrong?” Yuugi asked as he looked up from setting up the board game. “N-no… I just thought I felt something falling on my head.” Yami quickly said to cover it all up. Yuugi looked up to see what could’ve fallen.

“I don’t see anything….”

“I must have imagined it.” Yuugi nodded with a smile and picked up the blue goose. “I want blue, it’s my favorite color.” Yuugi said as he hugged it close to him. “Fine, I’ll be red then.” Yami smiled and picked up the red goose.

“Hey, wait a second. How do you know that blue is your favorite color? I thought you didn’t know anything about yourself?” Yami asked. Yuugi gasped and his smile brightened. “I was so happy I forgot to tell you! I remember! Almost everything!”

“That’s great Yuugi! It must be because-.”

“Because what?”

Yami leaned back with one arms supporting him as he fiddled with the red goose figure in his other. “I had to tell Anzu about you…. She wasn’t too happy.”

“Oh… is that why you came here?” Yuugi asked as he put his own blue figure at the start. “Yeah.” Yami sighed as he put his piece next to Yuugi’s. “How is Anzu by the way? She was my best friend.”

“She is good. She had moved on after your… disappearance and got married to Otogi Ryuuji.”

“Really!? Otogi-kun and Anzu always used to fight so much.” Yuugi said in a giggle as he rolled the dice. “She never told me that part of the story.” Yami chuckled as he rolled the dice.

The two of them continued playing the game a couple times, demanding rematches when they lost. Eventually, Yuugi got bored of the familiar games and fished out the box of Monopoly.

“I want to play this one next!” He said as he took off the lid. Yami explained the game and the goal. Yuugi nodded as he listened. He had never played a game like this one before. Yami dealt the money and they both chose their tokens. Yami was the shoe and Yuugi wanted the cute doggie.

Yuugi had understood the game quite well and was giving Yami a hard time. “One, two, three, four.” Yuugi counted as he hopped over the spaces with his dog. He happened to land on a Chance. Yami drew a card and read it to Yuugi.

“Go to jail.”

“Eeeh?!” Yuugi pouted as he moved his dog to the jail space. Yami sniggered as he moved over the GO and received his money. “You’re so mean.” He muttered as he paid the fine to get freed. “No, you just have horrible luck.” Yami replied as he took the money from Yuugi. He looked at the paper in his hands.

“Hey Yuugi…” Yami started. “How can you touch everything? I always thought ghosts would go through anything.”

Yuugi looked up at Yami. “I can’t touch anything… outside this house.”

“What?” Yami asked confused.

“I remember… when I was like this at first. I tried going outside… I tried touching some flowers but my hands went through them. Then there was this big dog, it kept barking and growling at me… I was scared and didn’t dare go outside anymore.”

“It was best for you to stay inside indeed….” Yami said, why he did not know. He had this mental image of weird people, who are self-proclaimed ghost hunters, hunting for Yuugi with their weird vacuums. It made him incredibly angry.

Yami checked his mobile for the time. It was already way past midnight. With much difficulty, he stood up. “Yami?” Yuugi asked as he too stood up. “Yuugi, it’s already too late. I really have to go now.”

“I understand Yami.” Yuugi said with a sad smile. “You can keep the games, so you can practice some more and kick my ass.” Yuugi giggled and took Yami’s hand, leading him down the stairs and to the front door.

“I had a great time today Yami… and thanks to you… I have regained most of my memories. There is nothing I can repay you with, but thank you so much.” Yuugi leaned closer and pressed his cold lips to Yami’s cheek.

The teenager’s eyes widened at the feeling of ice cold lips pressed to his cheek. It made a couple of chills run down his spine, the good kind of chills. “I-I-I’ll c-come back s-s-s-soon ok-kay?” Yami stuttered as the feeling lingered after Yuugi had pulled back.

Yuugi was looking away himself and nodded. Yami clumsily walked to his bike and peddled as fast as he could. He didn’t even bother to lock the chain to his bicycle, or even lock the door to his house. He sat down on his bed and held his racing hart.

Why was a simple kiss affecting him so much? It wasn’t even on his lips for Pete’s sake!

He flopped down onto his bed and closed his eyes, sleep washing over him quickly. For the first time in years, Yami had a wet dream. The teenager was pulled from his slumber by a vibration from his pocket.

“What?” He growled into the receiver.

 _“Yami! Where the hell are you?!”_ Yami winced and took the phone away from his abused ear. “Jounouchi, calm down.” Yami said after the yelling had ended.

_“Dude, it’s after ‘noon, you’re not at school and Anzu-baachan said you never returned home yesterday. I won’t calm down!”_

Yami winced again from the loud voice of his friend and looked at the clock. It was just as Jounouchi had said, he had overslept. “Calm down, I’m completely safe. I had just fallen asleep at my house.”

 _“You mean your own house? The dangerous one?”_ There was a warning tone in the voice

“Jou, it’s not dangerous. I have nothing else left so what else would they steal.” Yami replied as he was fidgeting, his pants felt weird. _“But you can’t lock it so it’s dangerous.”_ Was the retort from the other end.

“Jounouchi.” Yami sighed. “I am still alive, still healthy and still a virgin. There is nothing to be worried about.” There was some silence at the other end. _“Okay.”_ The voice was uncertain. _“Are you coming to school?”_

Yami sighed as he looked down and gasped. _“What? What?”_

“N-nothing. No I’m not coming to school today, I’ll be there tomorrow though.” Without waiting for a response, he hung up and jumped to his feet. Had he wet his pants? That was so embarrassing! He was almost seventeen and still wetting his pants!

He felt at the wet spot and smelt it. What confused Yami was that it didn’t smell like urine… it smelt more like… some kind of detergent. The scent was awfully familiar, he just couldn’t place it. Anyway, he waddled over to his closet, only to realize that he had no clothes left in this house.

Yami felt awfully relaxed for oversleeping and possibly wetting himself. It must be of the dream he had, where he and Yuugi… ooh. So that was what it was.

Yami bit his lip as he looked at his wet crotch again. He would just have to wait till it dried up or something. So he plopped on the couch and turned on the television, thanking god that there was still electricity.

A couple hours later, his relaxing moment got ruined by pounding on the front door. Yami sighed and sat up from his lying position on the couch. He checked down, and fortunately, the wet spot had dried, yet is still smelt like the weird detergent.

The knocking stopped and in a matter of seconds, Jounouchi was in the room, checking Yami all over. “W-what’re you doing?” The boy asked shocked. Jounouchi’s eyes squinted for a moment before they calmed down. “You look unharmed.” He concluded.

Yami wanted to pound his forehead on the wall. “I TOLD you I’m fine.” Yami said annoyed as he sat back down. “Yeah, but one thing I’m wondering is, why does is smell like sex here?”

“W-w-what?!”

“I smell sperm.”

Fuck. He hoped the smell wasn’t too strong. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Yami said with a smile to cover up. “Yami you didn’t, did you?” Jounouchi reprimanded.

“Of course not!”

“Then why does it spell like s-”

Yami harshly shushed the other male. “I had a wet dream okay.” He hissed angrily.

“What?!”

Yami flinched as he heard the new voice. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Marik, Bakura and Ryou were right behind me.”

If looks could kill, Jounouchi would’ve been dead, resurrected and dead again.

Marik and Bakura had a wide grin, going from ear to ear, plastered on their face while Ryou had a mischievous smile. The latter white haired male skipped forward and embraced Yami.

“Who did you dream about? Me?” He suggested, casting a look at a now very jealous Bakura.

“Ryou, you are very attractive but it was not you.” Ryou playfully pouted but let go of Yami. “Eh, no hard feeling.” He said with a smile before going back to Bakura’s side. The wilder white haired male immediately wrapped a possessive arm around the other and let out an animalistic growl.

Marik watched confused. “Why would Yami dream about you Ryou?” He asked, completely oblivious.

“Yami swings for the same team too.”

“What the?!” He looked at them all in disbelieve. “Why does no one tell me this?!” The four other males in the room shrugged. “That’s it, I’m going gay too. Yami date me.”

“No.”

_Whine_

“No.”

“Marik, if you’re serious…. I know this singe Egyptian guy.” Ryou said.

“You had me at Egyptian.”

“Marik, don’t be absurd. You can’t go gay just because your friends are.” Yami said.

Marik shook his head and smirked. “I’ve always been bi, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“Guess I’m the only one really straight huh?” Jounouchi joked.

“So that actually makes you the misfit actually.” Ryou pointed out. “Hey, I will have no alienating of Jounouchi in my house.”

“Ooooh~ Why you sticking up for him?” Marik teased.

“Could Jounouchi be the object of your desires?” Bakura added.

Yami started blushing, the dream was coming back to him. How he wished it was Jounouchi, that would make it less awkward. Or would it even make it more awkward. Al least it wasn’t as creepy as with Yuugi. The boy was dead!

“N-no.” Yami stuttered. “Why you stuttering?” Marik asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Because you guys are embarrassing me!”

“Then, was it Bakura?” Jounouchi teased too. Great best friend he was. “No!”

“Is it Yamaoka-san?”

“Ew!”

“You’re little ghost friend?” Ryou joked.

Yami’s eyes doubled size and he did not answer. “Yami… I was only joking….” Ryou added uncertainly. Still no answer from the awkward teen. “Yami… are you serious?” The white haired male added.

“I can’t help it okay?!” Yami exclaimed. “Last night when I was about to leave he kissed my cheek and my hormones went wild.” He ranted as he left the living room and to his own room, slamming the door close behind him.

The four boys left in the room all looked at each other in confusion and astonishment. The last thing they had ever expected was their friend to fall in love with a dead person. Their pickiest friend.

“I’ll go talk to him….” Jounouchi said walking to the bedroom of Yami. Ryou stopped him. “Let me talk to him.” Jounouchi retracted his arm from the doorknob and let the white haired male in.

“Yami?” He called to the teenager lying horizontally on the bed. He was a bit in a planking position, his legs straight, his arms by his side and his face planted in the blanket. “mphf.”

“I can’t understand you if your face is in the blanket.” Yami raised his head slightly. “What?” He repeated. Ryou sat on the edge of the bed. “I can’t stop you from falling in love with whoever you want, but you do know that it would never work out?”

Yami sighed and sat up. “I know… it’s just… I enjoy Yuugi’s company and when he kissed me, I just got so confused and my hormones started raging. I know it could never work out.”

“He is going to leave sometime soon.”

“Yeah….” Yami sounded really disappointed. “I know he will.”

“You need to get laid. Soon.” Ryou joked with a light punch on the shoulder. Yami laughed softly. “Yeah, I do.”

“Yami…. Why don’t you just… do it?” Ryou asked seriously again.

Yami grabbed his pillow and hugged it to him. “I don’t just want to give it away to some random person. I want it to be someone special….” Ryou nodded in understanding. “Hey… have you and Bakura… already?” He prompted.

The white haired male nodded again. “Just yesterday actually.”

“But you and Bakura are just going out… aren’t you going a little too fast?” Yami asked a little uncertain. Ryou shrugged his shoulders. “I feel like he is the one for me. It just… it’s hard to explain. I know we met quite recently… but I know that I can’t live without him anymore.” Ryou said with an absentminded smile, his thought obviously drifting off to the man Ryou had fallen in love with.

“Ryou….” Yami breathed in awe. The smaller white haired male had spoken what Yami felt in his heart. He gulped and blushed, averting his eyes from the boy. “How was it?”

Ryou smiled brightly “Great! It appears that Bakura loves to top. I don’t really mind the bottom, but I’m going to top next time just to annoy the hell out of him.” It appeared that Ryou was not quite modest.

Yami laughed loudly. “I think you and I will be great friends Ryou.” The white haired male smiled at him and the two shared a hug.

“Not that I mind you being here, but… why are you here?”

Ryou’s eyes lit up as he remembered. “Actually, it is my birthday today. And I was going to demand my present from you!” He chirped happily.

“Well… what is it?” Yami asked a bit cautious.

“I want to meet the ghost!”

“Ryou! I can’t just barge in there with a couple friends! Like I said Bakura scares him and I don’t think he would appreciate it if I came in and wrecked the house with those tyrants.

“I’ll keep Bakura in check.”

“And Marik?”

“That would be your problem.”

Yami sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign of a coming headache.

“Fine, I will try… but don’t expect much.”

“Yay!” Ryou cheered as he skipped to the living room, where he found Bakura and Marik, on the floor, fighting for the remote.

“We’re going to meet the ghost!” He announced happily. “Neat.” Bakura said as he pushed Marik off of him. Marik cradled the control and glared at Bakura. Jounouchi, who was sitting on the couch, paled visibly.

Yami was regretting it already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always grew up being thought that I have to stay virgin till I marry. That is why characters will always be virgins in my stories.
> 
> Again, I apologize for not beta-ing it. I will repost these when beta'd both on fanfiction (there only when it's finished) and here on AO3 again.


	10. Scavenger Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Envytastic, stop procrastinating and start studying for your midterms! Oh would you look at the time, it's almost midnight and you're fucked!
> 
> This chapter is longer than the previous ones, because I couldn't find a good way to end it untill... well the end of this chapter. It's about 1000 words longer.  
> Do you know the horror I went through when researching for this chapter. I will have to warn you though, there is gore in this chapter.

Marik had once again ‘borrowed’ his elder sister’s car and drove the lot of them to the haunted house. Yami was biting his lips as he watched the scenery zoom by. He wasn’t even sure if Yuugi wanted to see him so soon after the small kiss. It had embarrassed them both quite some. But then again, he did not want the small ghost to think that he was avoiding him.

When he was thinking about it, he was actually overreacting. It wasn’t like he and Yuugi had made out or something. Oh no, mental image! Go away!

Yami sighed softly as he concentrated on the scenery again. It was just a simple innocent kiss on the cheek, nothing to get all excited over. He was slightly jealous of Bakura and Ryou, who were sitting next to him, flirting and tickling each other. Jounouchi was shivering in his seat at the front, he knew the ghost was not evil, but it was still a ghost. And he feared ghosts. Marik was driving, concentrating more on the road than his surroundings.

The house came into their sight very soon, since the car was way faster than Yami’s bicycle. “Okay.” Yami said after Marik had parked the car and they all had stepped out. “I will first inform Yuugi that you are here too, and see if he wants you around. If he says no, I’m afraid we’ll have to leave.”

All of them, except Jounouchi groaned. The blond clasped his hands together and prayed to all listening gods that the ghost did not want to see them. Yami went inside, leaving his three eager and one not-so-eager friends behind outside. Bakura had immediately hugged Ryou to keep him warm. Marik watched the two with slight jealousy. He wanted to have a love of his own too….

Yami walked up the stairs quickly, already learned where the loose boards were. “Yuugi?” He called as he reached the room. He opened the door to see Yuugi playing with a toy car on the floor, humming a tune to himself. It sounded very weird, hearing such a happy humming voice with an occasional sob in between. Somehow, Yami was also getting used to that.

Yuugi looked up from playing and smiled brightly. “Yami!” The little spirit cheered as he flew over and hugged the living male. Yami had not expected this and just stood there in shock. Yuugi whimpered and squeezed tighter. Yami snapped out of it and wrapped his arms around the spirit. Yuugi’s grip relaxed a bit and they stood there for a couple seconds.

“Hey you.” Yami said, not knowing what else he could say.

“Hey.” Yuugi said, more shyly. The two let go and Yuugi held Yami’s hands in his own. Yami had gotten used to Yuugi’s icy non-existing touch. “You came back really fast.” Yuugi said happily, sniffing. Now it actually looked like Yuugi was crying in happiness. “Yeah… about that….”

Yuugi’s eyes widened in fear of bad news.

“You see, it is my friend Ryou’s birthday.” Yami started. Yuugi relaxed slightly. He really feared that Yami was going to say he wouldn’t come back anymore. “And… he wanted to see you.” Yuugi’s eyes widened again. “So… they are all waiting outside to meet you.” He finished.

“I-I’m scared.” Yuugi said, his voice trembling. Yami squeezed the ethereal hands of the ghost. “I will protect you, it’ll all be okay. Trust me?” Yami asked gently. Yuugi bit his lip and looked down, contemplating his decision. He trusted Yami completely, if Yami said he would protect him. Then he really would.

“Okay.” Yuugi said with a nod. “Great, you wait here. I’ll let them in first and then take you down.” Yuugi nodded and floated to the bed, sitting down and waiting.

Yami descended to the ground floor and opened the door, ushering the waiting teenagers inside. Ryou pumped his first in glee as Bakura grinned from ear to ear. Marik had a blank expression and Jounouchi looked sickly pale. They were all seated on the moth-eaten couches to wait till Yami came back down with the ghost.

Ryou was bouncing in his seat in excitement. Not too much later, Yami returned to the living room. He turned once and gestured with his hand for something behind him to come forward. The ghost appeared, his face was downcast and he hid himself behind Yami.

“Guys, this is Yuugi.” Yami said, stepping a little to the side but not completely exposing Yuugi. The ghost looked up slightly to take a look at the people. Ryou’s eyes were shining brightly, Marik and Bakura were staring open mouthed in awe and Jounouchi’s face was contorted in fear.

“H-hi.” Yuugi said in a very small voice. And that did it. Jounouchi screamed as hard as he could, jumping up from the recliner he was sitting on and hid behind it. The sudden movements startled Yuugi, as he squeaked and disappeared into the kitchen in the blink of an eye.

Yami groaned as slapped his hand to his forehead. “Jounouchi!” He reprimanded. “I can’t help it! It’s a ghost Yami. A ghost!” Jounouchi said with emphasis on the last word. “I know.” Yami growled as he stomped into the kitchen to retrieve the frightened spirit.

“You saw it too… right?” Marik croaked out. Bakura nodded, still staring at the spot the small ghost used to float a moment ago. “Oh my god, he was adorable!” Ryou squealed. “No wonder Yami fell in love with him, I would take him home the moment I saw him.” Ryou said to the other occupants in the room.

“Hey!” Bakura yelled, hurt. “Come on, you have to admit it.”

“Okay fine. Yeah.” Bakura grumbled.

“Yuugi?!” Yami called as he looked around the empty kitchen. “Where are you?!”

“Yami.” The voice was whiny and scared. Yuugi’s head popped out through the door of the fridge. “What are you doing? Come out of the fridge.” Yami opened the door of the appliance. Yuugi was sitting on his knees in the fridge and more tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Yami smiled as he held out his hand. “Come on, Jou was just a little startled since he never saw someone like you before. I was like that at the beginning too, remember.” Yuugi nodded reluctantly and took the offered hand.

He returned with Yuugi towed behind him. “Okay, no more startling Yuugi. Got it?”

The three nodded with Jounouchi peeking from behind the couch. Yami sighed again for the umpteenth time that day. “Jounouchi, he is just as scared of you as you are scared of him.” Jounouchi muttered something ineligible and stayed behind his recliner fort. Yami shook his head with the roll of his eyes.

“Very well then. Yuugi this is Ryou, Bakura and Marik.” He said pointing to each person. “And that over there is Jounouchi.” He said gesturing to the hiding blond male.

“Everyone, this is Yuugi.”

Ryou had stood up and slowly walked to Yuugi. The ghost immediately hid behind Yami again, watching the approaching teen cautiously.

“Hello.” Ryou said with a very kind smile and an outstretched hand like Yami had done earlier. Yuugi looked at Yami for advice of what to do. Yami smiled and nodded that it was okay. So Yuugi reluctantly laid his hand in Ryou’s waiting palm.

The white haired male did something unexpected. He closed his fingers around Yuugi’s hand and pulled the spirit to his chest. Yuugi yelped as arms encircled him and shook him around as Ryou gave him a bear hug.

“Cuuuuutteeeee!” Ryou squealed again as he made twirls with Yuugi in his arms. Yuugi was struggling to get out of the grip but the white haired male was stronger. Bakura looked with his mouth agape at his boyfriend, hugging a different male. Jealousy was burning in his eyes.

Marik looked from Bakura to Yami, with the same fire in his eyes, but directed at Ryou. He snickered, things were getting interesting. Finally Yami’s patience snapped and he stomped over to the twirling teen and ghost. He grabbed Yuugi’s arm when it passed him, making them stop.

“Enough Ryou, can’t you see he doesn’t like it?” He said as he pulled the small spirit free from the hug. “Aaaw.” Ryou pouted as he let go. Yami didn’t let go of Yuugi so he couldn’t flee again. Instead, Yuugi hid completely behind Yami, hugging his waist from behind. Yuugi tried to glare at Ryou from behind Yami but it didn’t really work, since no one could really see his face.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it, he was just so cute. I still wonder why you haven’t taken him home with you yet, I know I would’ve.” Ryou said, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. It was only to tease and embarrass Yami.

“Ryou!” Said male hissed. “B-besides, Yuugi can’t touch anything outside this house.” Yami added, having had the same thoughts before. The other four looked around the old house. The furniture was mostly destroyed by either moths or termites. The living room was well furnished, with a three seat couch and a recliner. A coffee table was in front of the couch and a very outdated television was pushed against the wall opposite the couch on a TV cabinet. On the ceiling hung a beautiful chandelier, if it wasn’t infested with cobwebs.

“Your house is actually pretty nice.” Marik commented as he fiddled with some nearby drapes. “If it had been kept up with.”

Yuugi now revealed his face from behind Yami’s back and glared at Marik. “It’s not like I could do anything about it.” He muttered.

“Okay, so you wanted to see him, you saw him. What now?” Yami asked. Ryou shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.” Then he got an idea. “Yuugi, why don’t you tell something about when you were alive.” Ryou asked kindly.

Yuugi was suspicious of the white haired male now. He sounded kind but could strike at any given moment. Yami once again gave him a reassuring nod and Yuugi came out from behind him, but still holding onto Yami’s arm.

So the little ghost started telling all that he remembered. About Anzu, his parents and his grandfather. Bakura and Ryou listened intently, fascinated by the little spirit. Even Jounouchi had come out from behind his protective recliner fort and listened to what the spirit had to tell. Yami smiled as he watched Yuugi tell everything happily. The spirit had obviously loved his family very much and there would be no way in hell that Yuugi could have murdered his own grandfather.

Marik however, had gotten a little bored, not really a big fan of stories. So he nudged Ryou lightly with his elbow. “Hm?” Ryou asked as he looked at the tall Egyptian. “Hey… you said something about this single friend of yours earlier, you got a pic?” He whispered.

Ryou nodded as he fished out his mobile phone from his pocket. He browsed through some of his pictures till he came to one of him and his friend. He showed the picture to Marik.

“Whoa!” Marik yelled as he looked at the picture. Not only did the boy look a little Marik himself, he was smoking hot as well! The sudden shout had startled Yuugi again, making him disappear into the kitchen again.

Yami sighed and went to retrieve Yuugi again. “You have to hook me up with him.” Marik demanded, ignoring the annoyed stares from everyone else. “I can try, send a picture of you and see what he says.” Ryou replied as he took a picture of Marik with his phone. He sent the picture via WhatsApp to his friend. Now all he had to wait was a response, they were living in different time zones after all.

“Yuugi, come out of the cupboards!” They heard Yami yell from the kitchen.

“Thanks a lot knucklehead. The story was getting pretty interesting.” Bakura growled. “Hey shut up man, I’m finally gonna get some.” Ryou slapped Marik and hard too.

“Be nice to Malik, he has been through a lot. I swear if you hurt even a hair on his body, only god will know what happens to you.” Bakura was taken aback by the threat coming from Ryou. He knew his boyfriend could be a little on the crazy side but this was something different.

“Hey, I was only kidding. Besides, he lives in Egypt right? So I couldn’t even touch him even if I wanted to.” Marik defended. “Well, good.” Ryou huffed. Bakura wrapped his arm around Ryou’s shoulders and gently rubbed his arm, to calm him down. It worked as Ryou leaned down and rested his head on Bakura’s chest.

“Can I have his number at least? I promise I’ll be good.” Marik said with puppy eyes, which only looked disturbing on his face. Ryou hesitated at first but decided to give it anyway, knowing he had intimidated Marik enough so he wouldn’t hurt Malik. The poor boy had a hard childhood and heartbreak was not something he could handle.

Yami returned with Yuugi behind him again. “Sorry Yuugi, but a certain idiot just screamed out of nowhere.” He said glaring at a certain Egyptian. “Hey, you can’t blame me! I want me some loving as well!” Marik defended.

Another sigh from Yami. “Yuugi, you just continue telling your story and ignore Marik.” Yami said as he sat on the floor, where he also sat earlier. Yuugi sat next to Yami and thought. “I forgot where I was.” He admitted slightly shy.

“You were somewhere about receiving this puzzle when you were eight.” Jounouchi reminded him.

“Oh yeah!” Yuugi’s face lit up as he got back into story mode.

“I got this ancient puzzle from Jii-chan, which he found on one of his digs. It was my treasure. Can you believe that I spend eight years solving that thing? It was really hard! The box said that the one who solves it gets their wish fulfilled; at least, I think it’s what it said. It was written completely in ancient Egyptian after all. But after eight years, I finally solved it. It was this upside down pyramid called the… Millenium… Puzzle.” Yuugi said with pauses between the words. His face had gone into horror as he said this.

“Yuugi?” Yami asked in concern. “T-that’s w-what’s s-s-st-stolen!” He started sobbing. “My treasure… he stole it.” Yuugi was crying out loud now.

The solid golden upside down pyramid puzzle he had spent eight years solving. That was what his murderer had taken. The object he treasured, as a gift given from his beloved grandfather.

“I want it back!” Yuugi cried as more tears than ever began rolling down his cheeks.

“Okay, okay, Yuugi, we will find it for you. Please stop crying.” Yami said to calm the wailing spirit down. But it didn’t help, Yuugi kept on screaming and crying. Yami bit his lower lip in desperation. How on earth do you calm down a saddened ghost?

Ryou came to the rescue and hugged Yuugi tightly. The jealousy came back into Yami’s eyes as Yuugi clutched Ryou’s shirt and cried into the shoulder of the white haired teenager. The crying eventually died to sobs and sniffling, but the amount of tears leaving Yuugi’s tear ducts were the same.

Yuugi let go of Ryou and floated to Yami, hugging him instead. The teenager wrapped one of his arms around the waist of the small spirit and wiped the tears away with his sleeve.

“Promise me you’ll find it for me.” Yuugi croaked out. Yami smiled and nodded. “I already did, didn’t I?” Yuugi didn’t answer and laid his head on Yami’s shoulder.

“How about we play a game? That cheered you up before.” Yami suggested as he rubbed Yuugi’s back soothingly. Yuugi nodded, his face still buried in Yami’s shoulder. “Guys, we’re gonna go upstairs and look for a game to play. I trust that you can entertain yourselves in our absence.” Yami stated as he stood up, carrying Yuugi in his arms, since the spirit showed no signs of letting go. Yami didn’t mind at all, Yuugi weighed nothing, being a ghost and all.

When they had reached Yuugi’s room, Yuugi floated out of Yami’s arms on his own accord and sat down on the bed. “Thank you.” He said again. “You don’t have to thank me so much Yuugi.” Yami said with a smile and ruffled the spirit’s hair. “You have done so much for me Yami and… I can’t do anything in return.” The living teenager shook his head. “I’m not asking anything in return, all I want for you is to be happy and at peace.”

Yuugi stared at Yami with what seemed like adoration in his eyes. The tears had lessened again. Yami stared right back in Yuugi’s eyes. He could swear that he saw a flash of life in those dead eyes. Before he knew it, he was closing in on Yuugi, the spirit doing the same.

Their lips connected. It was just like the kiss on the cheek. It felt very cold and non-existing. Like the chill you get when you feel like something or someone is following you. But Yami did not get a chill. In fact, the kiss was full of care, devotion and love. It appears that the little spirit had fallen just as hard for Yami as Yami had fallen for the spirit.

They parted and shyly looked away from each other. Yami looked up again and tilted Yuugi’s chin. He smiled kindly and planted one more chaste kiss on the lips of the spirit, making him smile as well. Yami and Yuugi stood up and went into lip lock again, this time it was more passionate than chaste. They separated and reconnected again and again. Yuugi pulling away when Yami needed to breath. Even though the boy was ghostly, Yami could not breathe through him.

“Yami!” Ryou yelled panicked from downstairs. Yami and Yuugi jumped apart and rushed down the stairs. Jounouchi’s face was drained of all blood again and Ryou looked uneasy. Bakura and Marik were gone.

“What happened?” Yami asked as he stood in front of Ryou, holding the white haired males shoulder with one hand and Yuugi’s hand with the other.

“W-we think we f-found Yuugi’s… body.” Ryou stuttered.

“What?!” Both Yuugi and Yami screamed at the same time.

“Bakura and Marik were exploring the house after you left. I tried to stop them but they wouldn’t listen.” Jounouchi started telling. “It seems like they found the entrance to the basement of the house and since there is no electricity, they couldn’t see anything.” Ryou added. “It also seems like Marik tripped over something, he said that it was some rope of some kind, and he slammed into the wall.” Jounouchi continued. “Marik said that he felt some of the plaster fall on his head and then this stench came out of nowhere!” Ryou finished.

Yami looked at Yuugi with a concerned look. “Where are Marik and Bakura?” Yami asked, looking back at the two other boys. “Outside, needing fresh air, as they said it.” Jounouchi answered. “Jounouchi, Ryou. Go back to my house and pick up the shovel I have in the backyard. Come back here and start digging in the back yard.” Yami ordered. The tone Yami used left no space for argument, so the white haired male and blond nodded and told the other two outside what they were told to do.

“Y-Yami….” Yuugi said with great uncertainty, grabbing the upper arm of the living teen. “You don’t have to do this.”

Yami gently pried Yuugi’s hand from his upper arm. “No Yuugi, everyone deserves a proper burial. You stay here, I will take care of everything.” With that said, Yami descended the stairs to the basement. He had never really noticed it before, since it was in the kitchen and looked like the door of a small storage room.

The smell hit him fast and hard. He gagged a couple of times but forced everything down and took a deep breath. He took out his mobile phone and turned on the flashlight app. There was a single string rope in a heap in the middle of the room, must be the one Marik tripped on. Yami gulped as he looked at the crack in the wall. It was a shade lighter than the rest of the grey walls.

Yami took a deep breath and proceeded into the basement, looking with his flashlight here and there. The basement was full of artifacts and pots; it reminded him of Yamaoka’s living room. He considered telling the older man but Yuugi would probably not appreciate it if someone unknown came along and emptied his grandfather’s own collection.

He walked over to the crack and tapped on it. It sounded hollow indeed. He tapped on a spot further away from the crack and it was solid. Yami found a sledgehammer near the wall and picked it up, holding it tightly.

_‘Here goes nothing.’_

With all his strength, Yami hit the wall, making even a bigger crack. The smell was getting unbearable by now. Yami gagged and coughed but didn’t throw up. According to his calculations, Yuugi was dead for about fifty years and according to his biology classes, a body should already be dry bones by now.

Oh yeah… that was with a normal burial. Yuugi’s corpse had very little air and no insect assistance so it needed longer to decompose…. Yami held in his breath as he slammed the wall again and again, until the top part finally crumbled. What he did not expect, was that the cadaver would fall out of the wall and unto him.

Yami screamed, taking a huge amount of the stench into his nostrils. He violently pushed the body off of him and ran to the nearest bucket-like object he could find, which happened to be an ancient Egyptian vase. Yami retched into it, feeling incredibly nauseous and light-headed.

After everything was out of his system, he dared to look back at the body. He was happy that he didn’t damage it when he pushed it off. But it still was no sight to see. The corpse was bent over with the arms dangling. Yuugi still had all his hair, which was tri-colored like his spirit form, only sagging and lusterless. His eyeballs were already gone, same with his tongue. Some of his muscles, tendons and ligaments seemed intact. The skin had already turned a greenish black and was completely shriveled up. Yami assumed, and hoped, that the internal organs already decomposed.

Hydrogen sulphide and methane were still being produced so the body was still in the middle of decaying. Why couldn’t the murderer have buried Yuugi under the ground!

“Yami?” Yuugi called from the top of the stairs.

“Don’t come!” Yami screamed as he looked at the corpse again. Yami turned his gaze to the stairs, to make sure that Yuugi did not come down anyway. After he had regained his strength, He picked the hammer up again and broke down the rest of the wall.

He carefully carried out the corpse, trying his hardest not to vomit again. He did not know how many times he had to swallow what came up. The corpse still had all his limbs attached, which was good. To Yami’s relief, the internal organs had already decomposed, which he witnessed after finding the stabbed places on Yuugi’s body. The dog collar was also still on his neck and Yuugi was also wearing the star pajama’s. After completely demolishing the wall, a clattering sound was heard as an ornate knife fell out of the wall.

“Poor Yuugi.” Yami whispered as he laid the body down on the ground. “He never did anything to deserve this….”

“Yami…” Yuugi called out again. Annoyance, impatience and sadness mixed in his voice. Yami took one more glance at the corpse before climbing up the stairs.

“Well?” Yuugi asked as Yami appeared from the basement. “I found it….” Yami answered.

“I want to see.” Yuugi said determined. Yami shook his head. “It is if better you don’t.”

Before Yuugi could protest, Yami talked again. “Do you mind if I used your blanket to roll you up? I don’t think my friends would like to see you… in such a state.”

“You can use it.” Yuugi said softly. Yami grabbed Yuugi’s hand, thinking the boy would go look anyways if he left him alone. Yami went to Yuugi’s room, picked up the duvet and carried it down with him, ordering Yuugi to wait for him at the stairs of the basement.

Yami laid it out and carefully placed the corpse in the middle, and closed the blanket all around him. It felt like, he was witnessing Yuugi’s death, like the boy had just recently been killed. He knew he had been depressed for months after his father’s funeral, so he was no big fan of them. No one was.

Yuugi’s stubbornness took over and the spirit came down anyways. “I want to see.” He demanded. Yami looked at the rolled up corpse and back at the ghost. “Are you sure?” He asked. Yuugi nodded determined. Yami sighed and kneeled down, opening the blanket a little, showing only Yuugi’s decaying face.

“So… this is me… or what’s left of me.” Yuugi’s voice was slightly monotonous. Yami nodded in confirmation. “You must not like me so much anymore.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“But this is the real me….”

“Yuugi, even if you were just a pile of bones, I would still love you.”

“Love… me?”

Yami gulped as he realized what had just left his mouth. “I have never been loved by someone like this before….” Yuugi admitted. “I love you too, Yami.”

“Neither have I.” Yami admitted as well. The two shared one more kiss before Yami’s name was called by Ryou again.

“Yami! The grave has been dug.” His voice sounded awfully nasally.

“Yami… if burying my body does give me rest, promise you will still find the Millennium Puzzle?” Yuugi asked. “Always.” Yami answered. With a final peck on Yuugi’s lips, Yami picked up the rolled up corpse and carried it to the backyard. Yuugi followed him with the rope in hands as ordered by Yami. In the backyard, all his friends, except Jounouchi, who had a too weak heart for a corpse, were standing there with clothespins on their noses. The four of them lowered the rolled up body into the hole with the rope and started closing it up.

Yuugi watched sadly as his body was covered more and more with dirt. He felt like his stay on earth was nearing to an end. He would have to leave Yami…. How would he find rest and peace if he was away from the person he loved?

Yami, Marik and Bakura patted the soft soil to straighten it out and looked at Yuugi, might the spirit pass on. They watched for a couple of minutes but nothing happened. Yami felt really selfish, but he was glad Yuugi didn’t go.

“Well…. It seems like burying you didn’t work.” Yami said, trying not to sound happy.

“Y-yeah….” Yuugi had the same problem.

“Oh! We even got you a gravestone.” Ryou said as he ran to the car of Ishizu and opened the trunk. He carried out a gravestone of plastic and placed it in front of the soft soil. The thing had R.I.P written on it and a couple of bats ‘carved’ in it.

“Ryou, they sold those for Halloween last year.” Yami said in deadpan.

“I know.” Ryou grinned and showed Yami a black marker. He turned the gravestone to himself and started writing on it. Yami, Bakura and Marik looked at each other, wondering what the occult loving teenager had in mind.

“Done!” Ryou turned it back around and pushed it into the soft soil so it would stand up.

 _Here lies Mutou Yuugi_  
Murdered a long time ago  
Unable to rest, till he was saved  
May he find happiness in passing

“But I haven’t been saved yet….” Yuugi said with conflicting emotions. Of course he wanted to pass on…. If he didn’t, Yami would age like normal and one day leave him behind, even if it was not his intentions. But if he did pass on, Yami would move on with his own life as well… falling in love with someone else someday. The thought saddened him even more.

“Exactly. You haven’t been saved YET.”

“Guys, never mind this all, let’s just go back to the house. We will figure things out later. I am kind of tired.” The throwing up had really drained him of his energy.

“Okay, we’ll wait in the car. Come whenever you’re ready.” Bakura told. Was it Yami, or was the white haired delinquent suddenly a lot nicer to him?

Yuugi followed Yami inside. Yami closed the door behind him and sighed, sitting on the couch. Yuugi floated in front of him. “Are you disappointed?” Yuugi asked, his voice was trembling again. Slightly more tears running down his eyes.

 “I… don’t know….” Yami admitted. “I would love for you to find peace, but… I honestly don’t want you to leave.”

“Me neither….”

Yami stood up again from his seat. “Look Yuugi, I need some time to think okay? I will return as soon as possible.” Yuugi nodded. Yami wanted to kiss Yuugi goodbye, but he went right through him.

“W-what the?!” He tried again and the same happened. Yuugi was not solid in the house anymore.

“Shit!” Yami yelled, as he realized just what he had done.


	11. The Murder Weapon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a mild lime in this chapter. I tried to keep this story as little sexual as possible but it appears that, that is impossible with me.

**_“Shit!”_ **

The shout of the teenager had alerted the ones outside. Ryou, Marik and Bakura rushed into the abandoned house to see if their friends were all right.

The sight that greeted them wasn’t a nice one. Yami and Yuugi were both in tears. Yami had hot tears rolling down his cheeks and was punching the floor so hard that his skin had broken and blood was trickling down his fingers and onto the floor. Yuugi was floating, his head was flung back and he was crying more tears than ever.

“Yami what happened?” Bakura asked as he restrained his friend’s fist from damaging it any more than he already had. Marik assisted Bakura into restraining the teenager as Yami struggled to hit something.

Ryou went over to Yuugi’s side, to try and comfort the spirit. “Yuugi, what happened?” He asked softly. Yuugi tried to calm down his crying long enough to answer the male, but it didn’t work. Suddenly he craved the surprise bear hug Ryou had given him earlier. With a wail, Yuugi threw his arms around the white haired male.

Ryou was ready to return it, only to hug air as he closed his arms around the spirit. Same happened to Yuugi, like earlier with Yami.

Bakura and Marik had finally restrained Yami, making the teenager slump and cry his eyes out. There was an uneasy silence as the two delinquents looked at each other in despair.

“Yami, what happened?” Bakura asked again, more calmly this time.

Ryou answered for the boy. “Yuugi cannot touch us anymore. And I assume anything else as well.” Yami nodded as he looked up at Yuugi with a shuddering sob. The boy’s crying had ebbed down to sobs racking through his small body.

“Yuugi’s body connected his spirit to this house. After we buried him, that connection shattered.” Ryou assumed, being the ghost expert he was.

“Couldn’t you have warned us?!” Yami snarled towards the white haired male. He tried to lunge forward but was fortunately restrained by the two holding him. “Yami cut it out!” Bakura screamed, angry at Yami for trying to hurt his Ryou.

“I couldn’t have. You knew yourself that Yuugi deserved a proper burial. If I told you, you probably wouldn’t have buried him.”

Yami sighed, for he knew this was true. He said it himself to Yuugi, that everyone deserved a proper grave. The fire in Yami died and he once again slumped down.

“What now?” He asked.

“Well, we could try and find the Millennium Puzzle that was stolen from Yuugi.” Ryou suggested.

“You talk as if it’s going to be easy.” Yami muttered, still being held by Bakura and Marik. “Yami, if everything in life was easy, nothing would be worth it.”

Yami, awed by Ryou’s quote, gained new energy to help Yuugi. He stood up, wrenching his arms free of the delinquent’s grip. “You are right Ryou, let’s start looking for it immediately.” He started for the car when he remembered something.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around. “But, what about Yuugi?” He asked, looking at his… what was Yuugi to him now? Was he his boyfriend? They had just told each other that they loved one another. For now he will just call Yuugi his secret lover.

“Uhm… I don’t know.” Ryou answered. “Take him with you?” Bakura suggested. Yuugi’s head shot up at this. “Where to?” Yami asked confused. “Anzu-baachan would freak out if suddenly the ghost of her childhood friend came live with her.”

“No you stupid, let Yuugi live in your own house for now. That will also spare you the trip back and forth to here.” Marik said. Yami was very taken aback; Marik came up with something genius. For once.

“What do you say Yuugi? I could visit you more often if you came with us.” Yami suggested. Yuugi needn’t any time to think. “Yes please.” He said softly. He would be contented with only seeing Yami since he couldn’t touch anything anymore.

“Well that’s settled then. You guys head on to the car, I will follow you shortly.” Yami said. Without waiting for an answer, he turned on the flashlight on his mobile phone again and went into the basement.

Yuugi wanted to follow but was stopped by Ryou. “Let’s go to the car, he will come back soon.” Yuugi was reluctant, but followed Ryou after all.

Marik and Bakura sat at the front while Ryou and Yuugi sat at the back, Yuugi sitting in the middle. Ryou was poking the spirit to see if the intangibility of Yuugi was just temporary. Yuugi, even though he could not feel, grew annoyed and swatted Ryou’s hand away. Ryou laughed as the swatting hand just went through him.

Yuugi huffed and pouted, which Ryou found absolutely adorable. Yami returned soon with something wrapped in an old cloth. He sat next to Yuugi and nodded for Marik to start driving. “What did you do?” Yuugi asked. Marik had started the engine and started to drive. Just as Yami wanted to answer Yuugi’s question, the ghost disappeared.

He didn’t really disappear, he just stayed behind. “Marik stop!” Yami yelled. The sudden shout made Marik slam his foot on the brake pedal. The impact made them all lunge forward, fortunately, they all had fastened their seatbelts. (Kids, always fasten your seatbelts!)

“What!” He asked annoyed. “Yuugi lagged behind.” Ryou answered.

The spirit soon floated through the trunk back into the backseats. “Guess you’ll just have to fly to catch up.” Yami said with an apologetic smile. “It’s okay. I’ll try to keep up, I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Yami’s heart shattered at the tone the spirit used. “Marik try going in a steady speed.” Yami said. The Egyptian nodded and signaled Yuugi that he was going to ride.

The ride went smoothly, as smooth as smuggling a ghost could go. They had received a lot of terror filled stared from children in the backseats in other cars. There were times, when Yuugi did not notice a red light and would just float out through the windshield.

Bakura was quite amused by this and would snigger as Yuugi scrambled back into the car. Yami would not find it as amusing and would kick the seat Bakura was sitting on.

Marik pulled over to the curb at Yami’s own house. The four stepped out, telling Yuugi to wait in the car. Yami unlocked the door while Marik, Bakura and Ryou were making sure the coast was clear. A lot of houses still had lit rooms but that was no wonder since it wasn’t that late yet. There were no people on the streets, for it was getting colder and colder, so the people preferred to stay in the comfort and warmth of their houses.

The door opened and Yami looked at the other three. They made sure that no one was there to see them and signaled for Yuugi to quickly go into the house. The spirit floated as fast as he could into the foreign house.

With one last check, the other four went inside as well. Yuugi was looking around the foreign surroundings. So much had changed in the time he was stuck like this. He had tried to pay attention to the houses and stores zooming by when he was in the car, but found it hard to do so while concentrating on keeping up with the car.

“What you think?” Yami asked as he put the wrapped up object on the coffee table. “It’s… different.” Yuugi commented. Bakura flopped down on the couch like he owned the place and patted the spot next to him for Ryou to sit. Marik took the spot instead and cuddled up to Bakura.

Ryou and Yami watched in amusement as Bakura tried to pry the clingy Egyptian off of him. Ryou decided to step in and helped to get Marik off the other. “Sorry Marik, he’s mine.” Ryou said sticking his tongue out to the Egyptian teen. Marik pouted but grinned afterwards.

A giggled was heard from behind them. Yuugi had his mouth covered by his hands as he looked at them amused. “You guys are so funny.” He said as his shoulder shook in silent laughter. Yami smiled in delight. He opened his mouth to say something in return but was interrupted by the vibrating in his pocket.

The caller ID told him it was Anzu. He silenced the rest and accepted the call.

“Hello?”

The rest watched on as the person on the other line spoke, not making any sound.

“No, no, I can assure you I’m completely safe.” More silence.

“Yeah, I know I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.”

The other person’s voice was heard in the silence, but it was very muffled so they couldn’t make out what they were saying exactly. Though Marik and Bakura had already guessed who it was.

“I am at Bakura’s house, we’re working on a school project. I will be home in an hour or so, I will explain things then. Okay?”

The person on the other end said some more things before they said their goodbye’s and hung up.

“Anzu-baachan was wondering where I was, since I never really went home last night or today.” Yami explained.

“That’s not good Yami, you should not worry Anzu so much.” Yuugi chastised.

“By the way Yami, what is that?” Marik asked, picking up the wrapped up object. Yami walked over and carefully took it from Marik’s hand. Careful not to hurt the other. He unwrapped it to show an ornate knife. The handle had golden and black stripes, the golden one being thicker than the black stripes. The blade was doubled edged and was a blackish grey color. The pommel was made from rock crystal. The golden strips on the handle had crisscross patterns carved on them.

“I found it in the same wall as Yuugi’s body. I think it’s the murder weapon.”

Marik took it from Yami and inspected it a little, turning it over and over. “I think this knife is Egyptian.” He said and looked at it once again. “Though I am not too sure.” He added. Yami went to his bookcase and took out a book on Ancient Egypt. It was a book he had gotten from Yamaoka when he expressed the same interests as the elder man.

“The knives in the book look quite different.” Yami said as he showed the book to the others. The knives in the book were just blades, without handles and a hook-like edge at the tips. Yuugi inspected the knife closer.

“This is it.” He said, pointing at the knife. “I remember this.”

“What do you remember Yuugi.” Yami asked. Yuugi gulped as he tried to take the knife from Marik but failed. “I woke up that night… and was greeted by this knife, before it plunged into me.” Yuugi told.

“Do you remember the murderer?” Marik asked, also wanting to help the little spirit. Yuugi shook his head. “I only remember the moment I woke up, the rest is still a blur.”

Marik stood up and handed the knife back to Yami. “Hey, you should show this to Ishizu when you have the time. Maybe she can tell you something about it. Speaking about Ishizu, I better go before she sees the car gone.”

“Will do, later.” The rest said their goodbyes as the Egyptian left. Yami felt that he had grown closer with him and Bakura after they met Yuugi. They seemed slightly more mature.

“Yami, I better take Ryou home and leave too. I don’t really feel like dealing with an overly worried mother.” Bakura said and stood up as well, followed by Ryou.

“It was nice to meet you Yuugi, I hope you will be able to rest soon.” Ryou said with a smile. Yuugi smiled back. “Thank you Ryou, It was very nice to meet you as well.”

Bakura and Yami exchanged brofists while Ryou and Yuugi just waved at each other. Soon the two white haired lovers were gone as well. That left only Yuugi and Yami. There was an awkward silence between the two. Yami was dying to kiss Yuugi again, unknown to him, Yuugi wanted to do the same.

“So uhm… I should leave too.” He finally said to the ghost. “So Anzu-baachan stops worrying over me.” He quickly added so Yuugi wouldn’t think Yami didn’t want to be with him. Yuugi nodded in agreement.

“That would be the best.”

“I will come visit you tomorrow after school okay?” Then something came to Yami’s mind. “Oh no wait, after I go to the museum after school.”

Yuugi giggled again. “It’s all right Yami, you don’t have to feel obliged.”

“No, I want to. Now to keep you busy till I come back….” Yami trailed off as he looked around. His eyes fell on the television. Perfect.

He picked up the remote and turned it on, it did not need touching if he choose a good channel. He already knew which one. TV Tokyo played anime and kid’s shows for the most time, so Yuugi would surely be entertained. There also wouldn’t be telephone sex offers during the commercials late at night; he did not want to scar the little ghost.

“You can watch this until I come back okay.” He said as he put on his coat. Yuugi nodded and sat in front of the television, he couldn’t really get eye damage from sitting too close anyway.

“Good bye Yuugi.” Yami said. Yuugi turned from the screen to Yami and waved. Yami kissed the soft pads of his finger and blew the kiss to Yuugi. Yuugi caught it and cradled it to his heart with a giggle. Yami blushed as he left and locked the door, a smile present on his face.

He knew what he had done was incredibly cheesy but it was the only way to kiss Yuugi at the moment. Yami quickly made his way to Anzu’s house, which fortunately wasn’t too far from his own. He unlocked the door and went inside. Soft noises came from the living room.

“Anzu-baachan?” Yami called softly as he entered the room. Anzu turned from watching the television and relief washed over her face as she saw Yami standing by the door.

“Yami!” She said and immediately stood up, embracing the boy. Yami squawked as he was hugged quite tightly. The elder lady still had quite some strength for someone old. “Anzu-baachan, can’t breathe.” Yami wheezed. Anzu released him, allowing Yami to try and regain his breath.

“Where have you been my boy? Do you know how worried I was?” Anzu reprimanded. “Yeah, sorry. I just had to think things through and clear my head.” Yami admitted. “Tell me, did you go to Yuugi’s old house?” She asked. Yami nodded his head. “Yes I did, but I won’t go there anymore.” He assured. It wasn’t a real lie; he wouldn’t need to go to the house anymore.

Anzu sighed a happy sigh. “I’m glad, I was afraid something would happen to you.” Then she frowned. “Why are you not returning anymore?”

Yami bit his lip, he could only tell half the truth. “I found Yuugi’s body and buried him. So now he passed on.” Anzu nodded slowly. “I’m glad….” She did a once over of Yami. “Have you eaten at all?” To answer that question, Yami’s stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten anything at all since morning.

Anzu chuckled and shook her head. “You go take a quick shower while I fix you something. You stink.” Yami gasped slightly as he remembered he never got out of his stained pants. “Y-yeah, good idea!” He stuttered as he quickly made it to his room.

Yami picked up the pants after he had taken them off. This was all Yuugi’s doings. The boy was too damn cute for his own good. He was especially happy that Yuugi recruited his love, but saddened again as he thought that Yuugi might leave soon enough. He sighed as he stood up and took off the rest of his clothing, wrapping a big fluffy towel around his waist.

He did not want Anzu to find him like that, since she always woke him because he was too lazy. He would need to prevent another situation like that one. Guess that was what showers were for. He would just need to make sure to leave the shower behind spick and span or else Anzu might question him.

The water temperature was just good, so Yami dropped the towel from his waist and stepped inside the cabinet. He looked at his right hand. He was slightly embarrassed, not that it was the first time he had done it, but he somehow always felt a little guilty and dirty after it. Oh well, what has to be done, must be done.

He wrapped his hand around his pride and slowly started stroking. He had to admit that it felt amazing, doing this after such a long time. Breaths came out more ragged and heavy, small moans and groans escaped his lips, being drowned out by the sound of the running water.

He held himself steady by putting his free hand against the cabin and started stroking faster. Yuugi’s name escaped his lips a couple times before he could no longer hold it in and released. Yami steadied himself with both hands against the cabinet now, till he got his strength back.

Ah, there it was. The dirty and guilty feeling. Guilty for even thinking about Yuugi’s innocent face while doing such a sinful thing. Yami scrubbed it all away with a washcloth and shampooed his hair. Just as he rinsed himself clean of all the soap, Anzu knocked on the door.

“Yami, come out soon or your dinner will be cold.” She called from the other side. Yami didn’t answer, not trusting his voice after what he did. But he did as the elder lady asked and quickly finished his shower. He turned off the water and rewrapped the towel around his waist and wrapped one up over his hair.

He quickly redressed in some baggy sweatpants and shirt, leaving the towel on his head so it could dry a little. A steaming bowl of ramen stood ready for him on the coffee table. Anzu was in her chair, knitting what appeared to be a sweater.

“Thank you.” He said before digging in. He never realized just how hungry he was. “You’re welcome.” Anzu said with a smile, as she continued concentrating on the sweater. “Who’s it for?” He asked, as he slurped up some noodles. “For you of course, silly.”

Yami blushed and quickly finished his bowl. He exhaled contended after drinking the stock of the noodle soup. “That was great.” He complimented. “Glad you enjoyed it. Now go off to bed you. I do not want you missing another day of school.”

Yami nodded, brought the bowl to the sink and went back into the bathroom to brush his teeth and blow-dry his hair. Then he went to bed. For once, sleep came really quickly.

The following morning, Yami woke up on his own for a change. He felt so contended. He wondered if it was because what he did in the shower yesterday. Actually, he was pretty sure it was because of that but he didn’t want to admit it.

He poured him some cereal and milk and ate silently.

“You’re up early.” Anzu said with a yawn as she entered the living room. Yami nodded with a mouth full cereal. “See, if you go to bed early, you will be rested well and will be able to concentrate better in class.” She told wisely.

 _‘If only you knew….’_ Yami thought.

Yami said goodbye and walked to school. He glanced at his own home as he passed, wondering how Yuugi was doing. The teenager knew that if he went inside, he wouldn’t be able to leave again and miss another day of school.

So with much difficulty, he looked away and quickly walked on. He caught up with Jounouchi, also walking to school, and greeted the taller blond by jumping on his back.

“Good morning to you too.” Jounouchi said slightly grouchy. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Yami joked as he climbed down from Jounouchi’s back. “Nah, its fine. Had an argument with my old man again.”

“Though luck.”

“Yep.” Jounouchi said in agreement.

“Why did you not return yesterday?” Yami asked, thought the answer was already quite clear.

“Dude, I’m not gonna look at a corpse! Seeing a ghost was bad enough.” Jounouchi shuddered as he said this. “I thought you and Yuugi were cool?”

“Yeah, Yuugi is nice. But he is still a ghost.” Jounouchi persisted. Yami laughed at his friend. “You should be glad you didn’t come. Yuugi wasn’t as decomposed as I hoped he was.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that he was still in the middle of breaking down.”

“Ew.”

“Yeah.”

The rest of the way Yami told what else had happened after the blond didn’t come back. The burial, the knife and how Yuugi was now staying at his place.

“Wait, you smuggled a ghost?” Jounouchi asked in disbelieve. Yami nodded his head with a sheepish smile. It sounded quite ridiculous and impossible when he heard it like that.

“Great, now your house is haunted too.” Jounouchi said as he took a seat at his desk. They had arrived to school at the end of Yami’s story. Yami rolled his eyes and shook his head. Other classmates started coming inside the classroom and it soon started getting a little noisy, so they dropped the subject, in case there were eavesdroppers.

“Say, want to come to the museum with me today after school? I want to show Ishizu if she recognizes the… object.” Yami asked, not wanting to say knife in the classroom.

“No way Yami. I’m staying out of this.”


	12. Suspect

Class went by without any events. Marik came into class extremely annoyed. He was grounded for ‘borrowing’ Ishizu’s car without asking and joyriding. Another reason for his grumpiness was that he didn’t have wink of sleep. He had received an answer from Ryou’s friend, Malik.

They had chatted through Whatsapp all night long and Marik was already smitten, not even having met the guy yet.

Yami was happy for his friend, he had found someone he liked, and would not feel so alienated when Bakura was with Ryou all the time. Marik had shown a picture of Malik to them and Yami had to admit, he was quite good looking. But not as cute as Yuugi, no never.

After school, he walked to his own home to pick up the knife he left behind there. He was afraid that someone at school or on the street might find it some way or another and confiscate it. Yuugi was still staring at the television screen, like when he had left.

“I see you enjoyed yourself.” Yami chuckled after the spirit hadn’t noticed him standing there. Yuugi looked from the screen at the newcomer and smiled, wiping his tears away. “I thought you wouldn’t come back until later.” Yuugi said as he stood up and floated to Yami’s side.

“If you don’t want me I can leave you know.” Yami joked. “No!” Yuugi said quickly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Yami chuckled and tried to rub Yuugi’s hair. His hand went through him of course. “I know. I was just messing with you.” He said, awkwardly pulling his hand back. He walked to his own bedroom and lifted the mattress, where he hid the knife.

“I’m going to the museum now, does the channel entertain you?” Yami asked, gesturing to the television. Yuugi nodded eagerly. “Yes! It’s a lot of fun!”

“Good, I will be back later, okay?” Yuugi nodded and resumed his position in front of the television. Yami left quickly and practically ran to the museum, almost getting hit by a car once. That little incident made him calm down and actually look where he was going. As much as he would like for Yuugi to stay with him, this was not where Yuugi belonged.

Soon, the museum was within his sight, so he quickened his pace again. He was lucky, for Ishizu was not busy at the moment. She was looking at some huge tablets of stone, her lips pursed in thought.

“Ishizu!” Yami called, out of breath. Perhaps he shouldn’t have run. The tall woman looked at him, with slight annoyance in her eyes.

“What do you think Yami? Should these tablets just be here against a white wall or should we put some background on them?” She asked him. Yami too looked at the huge tablet. They were hung up behind glass showcases.

“Looks boring to me.” He said honestly. “Like this they just look like huge slabs of stone. No offence.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I will order a background immediately.” She said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. Yami grabbed her arms before she could dial. “But I came for something else. Can we go to your office?” Yami asked.

Ishizu nodded and led the boy to the back, where her office was. Yami sat down on one of the comfortable leather couches and waited till Ishizu was back with hot chocolate for him. She herself had a cup of coffee and sat down on her chair behind the desk.

“What did Marik do this time?” She asked, in business voice.

“W-what? He didn’t do anything!”

“Do you know why he took my car?”

Yami shook his head. “No, I don’t. But I didn’t come because of Marik.” Ishizu nodded and leaned back in her chair, sipping her coffee softly. Yami rummaged in his bag and carefully took out the still wrapped up knife.

He unwrapped the old yellowish cloth from it and showed Ishizu the knife. The Egyptian woman just stared at her with a wide mouth. Yami blinked a couple times as Ishizu did not say anything.

“Ishizu?” He asked, still the woman did not answer. She picked up the knife and slowly twirled it around to get a 360 degree look at it.

“Marik thought it was Egyptian… but when I looked in an encyclopedia, the knives looked very simple.” Yami told a little unsure.

“No he is right, this is Egyptian.” She finally said, putting it down. “Now my question to you is, where in the world did you get this?” She stared him right in the eyes, with an expression that told him there would be no lies.

Yami sighed, he could tell what happened, partly.

“Ishizu, remember when I showed you the picture of Mutou Sugoroku?” Yami asked. Ishizu nodded in confirmation, remembering the picture.

“Well, I believe this knife was used as a murder weapon, about forty years ago.” Ishizu dropped the knife unto her desk. It clattered around before it came to a standstill.

“Excuse me?” She asked, her voice in disbelieve.

“Mutou Sugoroku’s grandson, the little boy in the middle of the picture, was murdered the same day as him.” Yami told.

“I want to hear, everything from beginning to end.”

Yami sighed, there would be no more escaping. He could already see the nice big men putting him into a straightjacket and injecting him with some huge needle that would make him feel ‘good’.

“So… the ghost of Mutou Sugoroku’s grandson has asked you to help him pass on, you found his body along with this knife and buried him?” Ishizu asked, her eyes wide in disbelieve. For Yami it was quite a funny sight, for he was used to see the woman calm and collected.

“Long story short, yeah.”

“I don’t know what to say actually….” She started. “I mean, the story is absolutely ludicrous… but on the other hand… you have evidence. The photograph and the knife.” She said as she picked up the dropped knife again.

“A knife such as this one is incredibly rare. These knives were put into the burial chambers of the pharaoh’s.” Ishizu explained, putting the knife back down. “It usually comes with a sheath, do you happened to have it as well?”

Yami shook his head. “No, I found it without one.”

Ishizu put the knife back on her desk and wrapped the cloth around it. “Come with me.” She ordered as she stood up. Yami nodded and followed her lead. The Egyptian woman locked the door to her office and walked towards the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.

She stopped in front of the showcase of the nameless pharaoh. Yami gasped as he recognized the object in the showcase. It was exactly the same knife as the one that he found, only next to it, was a golden sheath.

“I-it’s the same.” Yami said shocked. Ishizu nodded. “These were found in the tomb of the nameless pharaoh, look at who discovered them.” Yami read the plaque as Ishizu had asked him and his mouth dropped open.

“Mutou Sugoroku.” He read out loud. “That is the sole reason I believe your crazy story.” She said. “If you found it in his house… it’s very likely. Although I myself don’t believe in ghosts.”

“Ishizu… have you heard anything about the Millennium items?” Yami asked, looking away from the knife and at the Egyptian woman. She shook her head with a heavy sigh. “It’s like they disappeared into thin air.”

“Do you happen to know about the Millennium Puzzle?”

“Yes, that was the seventh item, but we never received it. Rumors were that Mutou-san kept it himself.”

“It’s true, he gave it to his grandson.” Yami confirmed. “Yuugi was the one who had solved it. He told us that it took him eight years.” Ishizu’s expression was one of shock. “It was the puzzle’s fault he got murdered actually. After Mutou Sugoroku left for the dig, poisoned. Yuugi went to bed and was stabbed by that knife. The reason he cannot rest is because he wants the Millennium Puzzle back.”

“A-are you saying that the spirit of the boy is still roaming?” A nod was enough. “Let’s go back to my office.” The two returned to her office and Ishizu sat down on one of the leather couches, feeling a little lightheaded.

“Are you sure you didn’t bump your head somewhere?” She asked after a small silence.

“Absolutely one hundred percent sure.”

Yami sat down in the other one and faced her. “I can’t help but think that the murder of Yuugi and Sugoroku have something to do with the heist of the rest of the Millennium items, but then again, that person would have to be incredibly old, not even able to walk up stairs.” Yami told.

Ishizu sat up straighter. “Your theory is highly unlikely. Like you said, the person must be quite old already. They’re probably not even alive anymore.”

“Is there a way to trace them or something?” Yami asked.

“Well actually… the Millennium Ring was known for being used as a dowsing machine long ago.” Yami looked happy. “But, the Millennium Ring was stolen as well… and the ‘magic’ in them doesn’t work anymore.” Ishizu used quotations marks with her fingers at the word magic.

The happy face fell. “There is still an investigation going on, hopefully we will retrieve them soon.” Yami sighed, he still had no leads whatsoever.

Ishizu stood up and picked up the knife again. “Do you think that we could showcase this here?” She asked. Yami took the knife back from her. “I’m sorry, I might need it till this whole hassle is over with.”

Ishizu nodded in understanding. “Very well. Be careful.” She said. Yami thanked her and after a goodbye, he left the museum and back to his own home.

When he entered, he saw that Bakura, Ryou and Marik were already present there.

“How the hell did you guys get in?” He asked perplexed, sure he had locked the door when he had left. “A hairpin.” Ryou answered.

“Yeah, easy lock to pick.” Bakura added.

Yami had the urge to slam his head against the wall. “I am starting to suspect you stole my cards.” Yami grunted as he closed the door behind him.

“Hey! I may know some tricks, but those things were sacred!”

Yami rolled his eyes and plopped down on the couch next to Marik, who was so into his phone that he didn’t even notice the newcomer. Yuugi and Ryou were playing twenty questions in front of the television.

“What are you guys doing here anyways?”

“We were bored.” Bakura answered, listening to the game the two other were playing. “You left so quickly that we couldn’t say we were coming over.” Ryou added.

“It’s not that bad right, it’s nice to be with everyone.” Yuugi added with a smile. Yami melted at the smile. “Fine.” He sighed. 

Yuugi stood up from the floor and floated over to Yami. “Did you find out anything?” He asked. Yami retrieved the knife from his bag and laid it on the table. “It’s Egyptian like Marik said. And it was found by your grandfather Yuugi. It was from the tomb of the nameless pharaoh.”

“Yes, that was jii-chan’s biggest find.” Yuugi confirmed.

“Anything on the puzzle?” Ryou asked. Here Yami shook his head. “It was rumored that the Millennium Ring was able to dowse the other items, buuuuut that one is stolen as well.”

“Bummer.”

Marik finally looked up from his phone with a smile. “Oh hey Yami, when did you get here?”

Yami didn’t even answer. A sigh was heard and they looked to see it was Yuugi. “I am starting to think I’m a hopeless case.”

“Don’t be like that Yuugi!” Ryou encouraged

“Yeah! I promised I would help you, and I always keep my promises.”

“We will find it, even if we have to go to the other end of the world.” Marik piped in. Yuugi looked at all his new friends and smiled brightly, the tears looked like they came from happiness instead.

“Thank you…” He whispered.

“So now what?” Bakura asked, coming to business. “By the way Marik, weren’t you grounded?” Yami asked. “Meh, Ishizu is at work anyway, she won’t know.”

Yami shrugged his shoulders and looked at the others. “Maybe we could like put up this add, where we are looking for the Puzzle, and are prepared to pay a load of money for it?” Ryou suggested.

“Won’t that be too specific and suspicious?” Yami asked. “Not many people know of the existence of the Millennium Puzzle, the thief might catch on very fast.”

“Ask around?”

“Too much energy, takes too long and I am sure there will be no results.”

The five discussed some more ideas with each other, all ideas being completely useless. It was getting late and Marik had to go home before Ishizu discovered he wasn’t there. Bakura and Ryou left as well, having to work on a school essay.

Yami this time did actually hit the wall with his forehead. “Yami?” Yuugi asked softly. Yami stopped slamming his forehead and looked at the spirit. “I’m sorry I made you do this Yami….”

“Yuugi, how many times do I have to tell you not to apologize?” The spirit lowered his head so his bangs covered his face. “As much as I would love for you to stay here with me… this is not your place to be.”

Yuugi stayed silent, still staring at the floor.

“It’s better I return home as well, I will see you tomorrow again, okay?”

Yuugi nodded. The teenager made sure the television was on for the spirit before leaving the house. The ghost had followed him to the door and watched as he left through the window. He was all alone again….

Yami did not go straight home like he had told Yuugi. Instead, he went to Yamaoka’s shop. It always calmed him down to have some tea and talk to the elderly man. It was already past closing time but he was sure that Yamaoka-san would let him inside.

He pressed the doorbell and waited till the elder man opened the door for him.

“Yami my boy, what are you doing here at this time?” He asked, stepping aside to let the teenager inside. “I just want to get away from it all… if that is okay with you.” Yami asked with a sheepish smile.

“Of course it’s okay! Come in.” The elder man said, closing the door after the boy. Yami got upstairs and sat down in the familiar living room. “I’ll go make some tea.” Yamaoka said as he went into the kitchen. Yami always looked at the artifacts when the elder man made tea for them.

They were the usual, pots, scrolls, tablets, utensils…

Hey wait a minute! Yami jumped up as his eyes caught something incredibly familiar. He tiptoed to the frame to take a better look. It was a golden blade-shaped object, with Egyptian hieroglyphics carved onto it, only it was not a blade, it was a sheath.

The very same sheath Ishizu showed him today.

“Yami?”

Said boy jumped as his name was called. He quickly turned around to face the old man. “What were you looking at?” The man asked with a smile as he put the tray with the teapot and teacups on the coffee table.

“N-nothing, just at this knife.” Yami said, playing ignorant. “That is no knife.” The man chuckled, taking a seat in his chair. “That is only the sheath.”

“Where is the knife?” Yami could not help the slight trembling in his voice. The man looked sad at that. “I bought it without the knife itself. Why are you so interested in that?”

“I saw a same one with the knife at the museum today, I recognized it.” Yami told truthfully. “Is that so?” The man asked impressed. “Yeah, it must’ve cost a fortune, since it’s also displayed at a museum.” Yami played along. He was starting to get more uncomfortable around the elder man.

“On the contrary! It was quite affordable. It was devalued a lot since it’s missing the knife.”

“I see….”

Yami looked around some more, there was nothing else that really stood out. Yuugi told him that the pyramid was inverted and solid golden. No solid golden pyramid to see here. Maybe he was getting a little desperate. Perhaps Yamaoka-san hadn’t stolen the Millennium items…. He was too old for it. But… he was not too old when Yuugi’s murder took place.

All this thinking made his head hurt. He looked at the teacup, suddenly too afraid to drink it.

“Y-you know, I have to go! I completely forgot I had an essay to write!” Yami said quickly as he made his way to the door. The elder man looked confused. “But I just made the tea.” He said. “I’m really sorry Yamaoka-san, I will see you Saturday!” Before the man could answer, Yami was already gone. He ran till he reached Anzu’s house, clutching his heart as he panted for breathe.

What if it was Yamaoka-san after all? He did fit the description…. He was way over the fifty and he had a crazy obsession about Egypt. There would be a couple ways to see if he was it indeed. He whipped out his cellphone and dialed the number of Bakura.

 _“What?!”_ The voice snapped, the breathing slightly labored.

“Writing an essay my ass.”

_“Yami I swear to god, if you called only to see if I was really writing the essay I swear to god I will m-”_

“-I need your help.” Yami interrupted, his undertone was something Bakura was not used too. Some rustling was heard on the other side. He assumed Bakura got off of Ryou or vice versa.

 _“What is it?”_ Bakura asked, more serious. “I might’ve found the murderer.” Yami stated. There was silence on the other side from Bakura. He could hear Ryou asking what was wrong a couple times.

 _“What?”_ Bakura asked in disbelieve. “Come over to my place at two a.m., I will explain everything then and tell you what to do and wear all black.” Yami hung up. He let out a shuddering sigh. If he was truly the murderer… he might have to say goodbye really soon. It was something he was absolutely not looking forward to.

Yami entered the house, just in time for dinner. He ate very little, concerning Anzu. He passed it off as stress since his midterms were close. She bought it, albeit a little skeptic. Yami quickly said his goodnight after dinner, brushed his teeth and jumped into bed, feigning sleep. Something he had figured out was that Anzu wouldn’t go to bed unless he went asleep.

When the lights turned off, he waited for at least one hour before getting up slowly. He had never undressed, so that sneaking out would be a lot easier. He grabbed his bag and got outside. It was even colder now that his body was used to his warm bed. The teenager rubbed his arms through his coat as he made his way to his house. It was still one a.m. so Bakura would be there in an hour.

He arrived, not too quick enough in his opinion, at his own house. Yuugi looked up from the television as he heard noise.

“Yami?” He asked as he recognized the figure. “What are you doing here at this time?” Yuugi asked as he looked at the time displayed on the television. Yami shushed him by putting a finger to his own lips and dropped his bag to the floor. Yuugi pouted as he turned back to watching the television, glancing at Yami from time to time.

Yami was rapidly tapping away at his phone for a little while, before quickly leaving the house. Yuugi watched confused as the teenager left and returned within about twenty minutes. He plopped down on the floor next to Yuugi this time and smiled at the boy. Yuugi, being frustrated for not being told, asked again.

“What are you doing here at this time Yami?”

“I will tell you soon Aibou, not yet.” Yami said with a wink.

Yuugi huffed, not happy with the answer and a bit embarrassed about his apparently new nickname. Yami could see a small pout on Yuugi’s lips and chuckled. “You’re cute Yuugi.”

Yuugi turned away completely from embarrassment. Yami had the urge to kiss him, but knew he couldn’t. Yuugi didn’t like to be remembered that he couldn’t touch anymore. A soft knock was heard on the door, so Yami scrambled to his feet and ran to open the door, not being able to contain his excitement, or were it nerves?

Yuugi followed, watching while hiding. It was Bakura, followed by Ryou.

“What are you doing here Ryou?” Yami asked, a little annoyed. He didn’t want too many people in on this. “You think I wanted to miss this?” The shorter white haired male smirked as he slipped by Yami inside. “Hello Yuugi!” He chirped as he waved at the ghost. Yuugi waved back, still confused as to what was going on.

Yami pulled Bakura inside quickly and shut the door after making a quick check that no one was watching. Yami made the same gesture by putting his finger to his lip for Bakura to stay silent and motioned for Bakura to follow him.

“What the hell do you mean you found the murderer?” Bakura hissed as soon as the door was closed of Yami’s bedroom. Yami shushed him harshly. “Keep it down! I don’t want Yuugi to hear this yet.” He whispered. Bakura raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want to get his hopes up, might I be wrong.”

Bakura nodded at this. Yami was quiet for a couple seconds, listening at his surroundings. He could hear Ryou entertaining Yuugi by telling him about the present day so he was sure they wouldn’t be eavesdropping.

“I was at Yamaoka’s house today.” He started, not even wanting to use suffixes anymore. “There I saw the sheath of the knife I found near Yuugi’s body.”

“How are you so sure it belongs to that knife?” Bakura asked.

“I went to see Ishizu about the knife right? There I saw the same knife, with the sheath. The knives were also found by Yuugi’s grandpa. And think about it, Yamaoka is obsessed with Egyptian stuff, he claims he got everything from auctions but I am starting to doubt that.” Yami explained.

“And why am I here?” Bakura asked.

“I wanted to borrow your, as you call them, _awesome stealth powers_ to ‘borrow’ the sheath and see if it fits. Then I have one more test planned for Yamaoka.” Yami explained.

“What did you plan?” Bakura asked, refusing to be part of this unless he was well informed. “I am going to show him the picture of Yuugi and his grandfather, see how he reacts. If he becomes nervous, he is involved.”

Bakura was convinced. “If I somehow get caught, you are the one going to bail me out.” Yami nodded, wanting to risk that. “It’s simple, go through his front door to his house, since the shop has security. You’ve been there before, right?” A nod. “Good, go to the living room and above the fireplace, there should be a frame. The sheath of the knife is in that frame.”

“Sounds easy.” Bakura said as he walked to the door.

“That is, if he didn’t heed my warning and installed extra security.” Yami muttered, following the other. “What?” Bakura asked, turning around.

“Nothing!” Yami said a little too quickly.

In the living room, Yuugi was looking at Ryou in awe, as Ryou told him about all new technology. Yami joined them and watched as Bakura prepared himself. He tied up his long unruly white hair with an elastic band. He fortunately had listened to Yami and wearing a black hoodie and black pants. He raised the hoodie over his head, to hide his easily distinguished hair. To finalize his outfit, he put on the black leather gloves Yami had prepared for him. The tri-colored haired teenager gave him a nod, for good luck. Bakura returned it and was out the door.

Yami trembled slightly; he was too nervous and excited. Nervous that it would go completely wrong and excited that he possibly had a lead. Perhaps he should pursue a career of detective. Ryou gave him questioning looks, having heard from Bakura that the murderer might’ve been found. Yami shrugged it off, not wanting to give away anything. He had experienced that Ryou could be just as protective of Bakura as the Bakura was of Ryou.

It took only half an hour for Bakura to return, completely out of breath. Yami jumped to his feet and went to the other man. “What happened?” He asked. Bakura tried to calm down his breathing as fast as he could. “He had an alarm installed there!” Bakura screamed at the spiky haired teen.

“Fuck! Did he see you?!” Bakura was at least glad that his friend cared more about him than his objective. “No, before anyone came, I was already outside and running.” Bakura told. Yami felt a bit disappointed, Bakura did not hold the thing he needed.

“But, I got this!” Bakura exclaimed, pulling out the frame sheath from under his shirt. Yami was so happy that he could hug his friend, which he did. Bakura pushed Yami off of him. “Bring the knife so we can see if your hypothesis is true.” Yami nodded, not even noticing his friend using such a word.

The knife was pulled out of the bag and unwrapped. Yami took the sheath from Bakura and brought them together with trembling hands. Yuugi and Ryou watched on in utter confusion, not liking being kept in the dark.

Yami missed the sheath a couple of times by trembling and Bakura was losing his patience at a very fast rate. He snatched the objects out of Yami’s hands and did what the other male was trying to do. He slid the knife into the sheath.

And it fitted inside just perfect.


	13. Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already said this in previous chapters but sorry it still isn't beta'd

“Can someone please tell me what in the hell is going on?!” Ryou screamed as the two other secretive males’ eyes widened when the knife slid into the sheath. Yuugi was happy to know that he was not the only one completely in the dark.

Yami looked at Bakura for some advice. All he got was a nod from the other to spill the beans. Yami sighed. “Ryou, as you probably heard from Bakura, we have a suspect for the murderer.”

Ryou nodded and Yuugi gasped. “I found this sheath in Yamaoka’s house and needed for Bakura to uhm… confiscate it, so we could see if it fit. And I think we just confirmed that.”

“Yama…oka?” Yuugi asked, a little breathless.

“You know him?” Yami asked. Yuugi gave a small nod. “He used to be a student who always attended all of Jii-chan’s seminars. He came to visit sometimes to get private classes about Egypt from my grandpa. They were quite close.” Yuugi explained. “Do you think… it was him?”

Yami nodded. “The man is so obsessed with Egypt and he had the sheath of the knife you were killed with….” Yami said uncertainly, not liking the angry look on Yuugi’s face.

“Well Jii-chan had an Egypt obsession as well, but that didn’t mean he killed people to steal things!” Yuugi screamed and floated away. Yami sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Who could’ve known that Yamaoka was an acquaintance of Yuugi’s, and here he was, suspecting him of murder. Perhaps he had received the sheath from Sugoroku as a gift or something before the whole incident.

“You screwed up man.”

“Shut up.” Yami growled at his white haired friend. Ryou sighed, he was already tired. “Bakura, let’s go home for now, unless you still need us?” He asked at the spiky haired teen. Yami shook his head, not looking at any of them. Just when he thought he had a lead….

“Let’s.” Bakura agreed. The two left, leaving Yami alone with Yuugi. Yami sighed through his nose and went into his bedroom, the direction Yuugi went into. The ghost was by the window, staring at the small backyard.

“Yuugi… I’m sorry.”

The shoulders of the boy slumped as he let out a small sigh. Yuugi turned around and looked at Yami with those dead eyes, Yami had become accustomed to. “It’s not your fault Yami… I shouldn’t be angry at you while you do your hardest best to help me. I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry Yami.”

“There you go apologizing again, I told you not to.”

Yuugi smiled a little as he wiped away his tears. “It’s just… he did kind of fit the profile of the murderer… I think I got carried away a little.”

Yuugi shook his head. “No, I can actually understand. Like you said, he loved Egyptian history just as much as me and Jii-chan. He would come often and sometimes Jii-chan would give him a souvenir he brought back with him.” Yuugi told.

“That can explain the knife sheath indeed.” Yami said plopping down on his bed. He knew it was not true. Why would Yamaoka say he got the sheath from an auction if he had gotten it from Sugoroku? He had to have obtained it in some other way. He only said so to not upset Yuugi any further.

“That brings us back to square one.” He sighed, glancing at his alarm clock. He shot back upright as he saw the time. “Shit! It’s already 3 a.m.!” He said jumping to his feet. “I got to go Yuugi before Anzu-baachan notices I am gone. I’ll come back soon, love you, bye!” He shouted as he ran and grabbed his stuff on the way. “Bye….” Yuugi said softly, but Yami was already gone. He resumed his position in front of the television, but his mind was elsewhere.

Could what Yami said be true? Could it really have been Yamaoka? He had shown great interest in the Puzzle while Yuugi was still working on it…. Offering to buy it every time he saw Yuugi. That night… that fateful night… he had visited them, before Jii-chan left.

Yuugi shuddered in his otherworldly form. He was beginning to doubt his faith in the man….

Fortunately for Yami, Anzu was still asleep when he reentered the house. He lied down on his bed, but could not fall asleep. No, thoughts were racing through his head. He still wasn’t convinced that Yamaoka was innocent. On the contrary, now that Yuugi had confirmed some sort of connection to the elder man, he was even more suspicious than before. He hoped the photo test he had planned would get him somewhere.

It would either get him closer or it would truly throw him back to square one. He certainly hoped it wasn’t the second one.

Yami’s alarm clock went off, the boy not getting a wink of sleep. He got up with much difficulty and dragged himself into the shower. By the time he had gotten out, Anzu had woken up as well and was already preparing breakfast.

“Yami you look horrible, did you not sleep well?” She asked, seeing the red in his eyes and the dark bags under them. Yami slowly shook his head. “Had a nightmare.” He made up. Anzu felt his forehead and was glad to know he wasn’t sick.

“You want to go to school?” She asked as she put some fried eggs in front of him. Yami nodded, it would be pointless for him to stay home. He had some business that needed to be taken care of.

“Good boy.” Anzu praised and sat down to eat her own breakfast. She attempted to make small talk but Yami absolutely did not have the energy to reply. So he just nodded every now and then to let her know he listened.

The time to leave for school came a little too slowly for him. He trudged down the street, till he met up with Jounouchi. “You look like shit.” Jounouchi commented. “Thank you, you look amazing too.” Yami muttered sarcastically. He started hanging onto Jounouchi, half walking, half being dragged to school.

Yami told Jounouchi in short what had happened over the few days. To say that the blond was shocked was an understatement. He also couldn’t believe that Yami accused the nice elder man of murder and robbery.

Yami’s forehead hit his desk the moment he sat down. He looked up with a groan when someone tapped his shoulder. “What?” He moaned, incredibly tired.

“We need to talk. I’ll catch you later.” Yami sat up straighter as he looked up at the serious face of Bakura. Yami nodded, confused as to why. He watched as Bakura walked passed him to sit at his own desk in the back, sharing a brofist with Marik before sitting down.

He shrugged his shoulders and slumped in his chair again, waiting for his precious break to come.

Little did he know, he could not really have a break. When it was lunchtime, he was immediately pulled aside by the delinquent and pushed into an empty classroom, which was locked after the door closed.

“You’re not gonna rape me, are you?” Yami asked half joking, half suspicious.

“I was thinking last night after… you know and something did not quite sit right with me.” Bakura announced, sitting on the desk that belonged to the teacher. Yami took a seat at the middle desk of the most front row.

“What so you mean?” He asked, now too in serious mode.

“When I got into the house, no alarm. When I took the sheath out of the frame, no alarm. When I took a sandwich from the fridge, no alarm. When I touched the bookcase, alarm.”

“What are you getting at? And why did you take a sandwich?”

“I was hungry okay. But think about it, the guy’s house is chockfull of valuable Egyptian artifacts. Why weren’t those secured, while a dusty bookcase was?” Bakura asked. Yami hummed in thought as he rubbed his chin.

“If you were a thief, what would you rather steal? Some valuable antique ancient item or a dusty book?” Bakura questioned.

“I would go for the valuable ancient item of course.”

“Exactly. Something is fishy Yami.” Bakura declared. “But… I touched the bookcase so many times in the past, why didn’t I hear an alarm?” Yami asked, he was getting what Bakura was trying to tell, but he still wanted to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

“Wouldn’t it be suspicious if you could touch anything there and suddenly when you touch the bookcase an alarm goes off? That would attract attention to it, I think there is something hidden there.” Bakura said

“Good, at least I am not the only paranoid one.” Yami sighed as he went to thinking again. Bakura did have some valid points…. “So, any idea of what we should do?” He asked, out of ideas.

“It’s clear that the alarm is only turned on when it’s night and probably when the man isn’t at home. So if you want to check it out, it should be when he is still at home and during the day.” Bakura explained.

“I am there this Saturday… but he never leaves me alone for longer than about two minutes.” Yami sighed in frustration. This time Bakura shrugged his shoulders. “This time it’s all you man, I am not risking going there again. Besides, Ryou would probably kill me.”

“You are so whipped.”

“At least I’m getting some.”

“Touché.”

Yami laughed, giving a brofist to Bakura and the two left the classroom, to their friends, who were already done with their lunch. “Where the hell have you two been?” Marik asked, looking up from his phone. It was a miracle Ishizu hadn’t confiscated it after getting grounded.

“We were just discussing the state of affairs.” Bakura told, sitting next to his boyfriend and kissing his cheek. “And you couldn’t have done that here because….” Marik prompted. “Too many witnesses.” Yami answered simply, sitting back in his chair, his tiredness catching up with him again. “Now I’m gonna take a nap, wake me up when class starts.” Yami closed his eyes.

“All right class! Everybody clean up and take your seats!” The next teacher announced as she walked into the classroom. Yami let out an agonizing groan.

After school, Yami contemplated whether to just go back home and sleep or do the photo test. Since the shop was already on his path, he decided the second option would be better. He pushed the door open, the bell above ringing to alert for a new customer. Yamaoka was already behind the counter and smiled at him, waving for the teenager to come closer.

“Welcome Yami, you must’ve heard about the release of the new booster packs huh?” The man asked. Yami frowned, there were new booster packs? He didn’t have the time or energy for duel monsters anymore. Especially not after his collector’s binder was stolen.

“Actually Yamaoka-san, I don’t really play duel monsters anymore….” Yami admitted sheepishly. The man looked perplexed. “How come?” He asked a little saddened. Yami was starting to doubt this man could do something as horrible as murder.

“Well… since my binder was stolen, I lost all heart in it.”

“How sad….” The man said. “What can I help you with then?”

Yami rummaged in his bag and took hold of the picture. He silently gulped and pulled it out. He hoped his voice would cooperate with him now. “For school we need to do this assignment where we have to make a very big family tree, and I got a tip that you might know these people.” Yami said, surprised that his voice was quite steady.

He intently watched the expression of the elder man. He saw something flash in his eyes before the expression went blank. “I vaguely recognize the elder man but I don’t know the rest… who are these people to you?”

Yami’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The elder man was my grandfather’s cousin.” He said, deciding to play safe in case Sugoroku had said he had no siblings. “Since my own grandfather has already passed away, I couldn’t get info anywhere else so that is why I am asking the elders of Domino.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be that big of a help.” The man smiled. Yami’s eyes narrowed slightly more, was the smile forced?

“Thank you anyways, I will see you on Saturday!” Yami said happy-go-lucky and left the shop, quickly tucking the photo back into his bag.

It didn’t add up. Yuugi said that Yamaoka had known him and was after his puzzle and that the man would get presents sometimes from his mentor, whom he was close with. That was not someone you forget really easily. He texted his new findings to Bakura, having grown quite closer with the other teen.

He did not wait for Bakura to answer, he just wanted to keep the other up-to-date for he had risked himself for Yami. He raced back to Anzu’s house, going straight to his room and plopping down on his bed. He would need to check out the bookcase without being too suspicious….

But how!

Yami grabbed his head in frustration. He was going there on Saturday to work… but Yamaoka would be up in the house part all day unless there was something wrong in the shop.

That’s it!

Yami shot up as he got an idea. Someone would have to create a distraction, a friend Yamaoka wasn’t too familiar with…. He knew Jounouchi very well and Bakura and Marik he was familiar with…. Ryou! The boy had moved quite recently and didn’t show that much interest in the card game!

He frantically searched for his phone, finding it in his pocket. Yami dialed the number of the white haired teen and impatiently waited till the other one picked up.

_“Hello?”_

“Ryou!” Yami practically yelled into the receiver. “How good are you at making a scene?!”

_“W-what?”_

Yami took a few calming breaths. “I need you to come over to the shop I work at and make a scene to draw out the shop owner. While you keep him busy, I will sneak up and look at where the Millennium Puzzle might be.” Yami explained in a hushed tone, in case Anzu was near.

_“Yami! You know I don’t approve of this!”_

_“Of what?”_  Bakura’s voice came from the background.

“Please Ryou!” Yami whined. “If I’m wrong, I will never ever ask anything of you again!” He pleaded. Yami could hear Bakura asking what was happening constantly, were the two never apart? A long sigh was heard.

 _“You better be right about this.”_ Ryou growled.

“I hope so too.” Yami said biting his lip. “I’ll tell you the details tomorrow during lunch.” The two hung up, Yami plopped down on his bed again, feeling quite excited and nervous again.

He already had something in mind. He would be mopping the floor, Ryou would ‘trip’. While Yamaoka was aiding a hurt Ryou, he would sneak up and check things out. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was the best he could think of.

The following day at school, Ryou was quite unsure.

“What if he calls an ambulance?” He asked. “Then tell him not to, that you don’t have insurance.” Ryou nodded. “But… won’t he just leave after I get better or something? I don’t imagine he’s going to stay with me the whole time…”

“Just claim you will sue him for not having a ‘wet floor’ sign, which I will so conveniently forget to put out.” Yami explained. Ryou sighed again, this was insane, and he was going to be a part of it.

“Fine, don’t let Bakura know. He will freak out.” Yami nodded in agreement. The last thing he needed was an overprotective boyfriend taking away his decoy.

They left the secluded classroom and returned to their group of friends, Bakura immediately questioning their time alone. “Nothing, I was giving Yami some relationship advice.” Ryou told with a wink towards Yami. The teenager started blushing as they all looked at him with questioning glances.

“Seriously though, what is it with you and this secretiveness, I thought we were all friends!” Jounouchi complained, feeling left out. He and Yami used to be very close, but he was feeling the bond between them weakening. It all started after Yami met Yuugi….

“S-sorry Jou, as soon as this whole ordeal is over with, everything will return to normal.” Yami assured the blond. Jounouchi smiled at Yami but wasn’t quite convinced. He had a feeling things would never be the same ever again, even after this was over.

The weekend came and Yami prepared for work. He hadn’t visited Yuugi the last couple of days, afraid that he would accidently spill his actions to the ghost to upset him even more. Might Yamaoka truly be the murderer, he wouldn’t tell Yuugi.

Yami always got in through the front door of the house for work. The alarm would have to be disabled from the inside and Yami didn’t have the key to the shop door. Yamaoka greeted him with a happy smile, what confused Yami even more. The alarm in his house went off and something, even though very small, got stolen. Why hadn’t the man called the authorities?

Yami returned the smile quite forced and opened up the shop, after the old man had disabled the alarm and given him the key. He returned it to the man after unlocking the door and flipping the sign to open. Now all he had to do was wait.

Ryou told him that he would come around somewhere around noon. While it was still quite quiet in the store, Yami decided to make the floor wet for the ‘accident’. He made sure that he didn’t wring out the mop and left a puddle of water on the floor. It wasn’t that busy fortunately. Sometimes Yami would have to warn the customers not to step on the puddle, he didn’t want a real accident to happen.

Ryou came inside, acting like a real customer, browsing the shelves. When no one looked, he gave Yami a nod, it being returned. Ryou walked over to the puddle, fortunately, there was no one near so he could just lie down and be hurt.

He rolled his eyes. _‘I can’t believe I am actually doing this. You owe me big time Yami.’_ With that thought, he lied in the middle of the puddle and let out a scream. Yami, to make it more believable, rushed over to Ryou and kneeled besides him.

“Are you okay?!” He asked, holding out his hand for Ryou to take.

“No my ankle hurts real bad!” Ryou screamed, on the verge of tears.

_‘Wow, Ryou really is a good actor.’_

Yamaoka, having heard the screaming, rushed down. “What happened?!” He asked, also kneeling down by the ailing boy.

“I had mopped the floor this morning, but it seems I forgot to put out the wet floor sign.” Yami said, biting his lower lip and lifting Ryou’s head slightly. “Where does it hurt?” Yamaoka asked, slowly feeling Ryou’s leg.

The boy screamed as the man touched his ankle. “P-please don’t touch it. It hurts.” He whimpered. The elder man nodded. “Yami, go call an ambulance, I will stay with him.” The man ordered. Again, to make it more believable, Yami ran to the counter to get the phone.

“P-please don’t call, I don’t have insurance.”

The elder man frowned. “I will get the first aid-kit, we can wrap the ankle up. Maybe after he rested a little while.” Yami suggested. “Would you like that?” Yamaoka asked Ryou. Ryou nodded, sniffling a little. Yami got into the house part of the building and immediately went to the bookcase. He would have some explaining to do if the alarm went off, he could probably make up something on the spot.

To test it out, he first just poked the bookcase, luckily there was no peep. He started pulling book after book, hoping that a secret switch would make it move or something, alas he had no luck. Bakura was right though, why would only this dusty old bookcase be secured, there must be something.

Yami knew he had to hurry up, Yamaoka might be wondering why he was gone so long when he was only fetching the first aid-kit. He put his hands on his hips as puffed his cheeks and exhaled. This whole thing was getting frustrated.

He stood back to watch it from a little more distance. Maybe they were thinking a little too much into it? Yami did notice, that there was no furniture to the right of the bookcase. So he took his chances and grabbed the edges of the case and gave it a pull. It moved quite easily.

Yami grinned brightly as he gave it a harder pull, moving the bookcase completely to the right. He assumed Yamaoka had wheels installed under them and hid them so he could move it around more easily, being an elder and all.

Yami walked around it to gasp. Behind the bookcase was a hidden sliding door. He gulped as he grabbed the handle and slid the door open. The mouth of the teenager hung open as he looked inside the room. It was dark, but the gold inside almost illuminated the room.

Inside, were all kinds of different, high value Egyptian jewelry. There was even a mask that they put on the pharaoh’s mummified bodies, those things were priceless! But those did not hold his attention. What did were seven artifacts, created in the time of the nameless pharaoh. The Millennium Tauk, Scales, Key, Rod, Eye, Ring and the Millennium Puzzle were displayed in this particular room.


	14. What Happened Those Years Ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter is kind of very sad. And it's my longest chapter yet. You might want to keep some handkerchiefs with you.

Yami was frozen on the spot. He could not believe it. Perhaps he really should pursue the career of detective. He had found all stolen Millennium items. He took in a shuddering breath. He found it, but what was he to do now?

He was about to go inside to take the Millennium Puzzle when someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The voice asked. It was familiar, but the sinister undertone made it sound so foreign. Yami gulped, looking back over his shoulder, to see the elder man glaring at him. Yami had never seen such an angry expression on the man before. He gulped again, would he suffer the same fate as Yuugi?

“W-what is all this?” Yami asked bravely. If he was to die, he would get the answers he wanted. “My little collection, which you were not supposed to find.” The man snarled. “How could you?!” Yami growled, enraged. “How could you kill Yuugi just for this?!” He yelled, yanking his shoulder free from the grip of the elder man.

Yami knew he had no escape. The room with the Millennium items had a dead end and Yamaoka was blocking his only exit. The man growled at the mention of the name. “They were all foolish! I told them so many times over and over again to give the Millennium Puzzle to me! The stupid boy just wouldn’t listen!” The man yelled, closing in on Yami.

Yami gulped, stepping back as the elder man approached him. “And what about Sugoroku?” Yami asked, hit back hitting the wall. “That old fool… poisoning him wasn’t hard at all… that family was too trusting for their own good.” The elder man stopped, just a little distance away from Yami.

“W-why?!” He screamed, almost on the verge of tears. “Why did you do all that for the puzzle?!”

“Because I wanted it.” The man shrugged.

“Y-you killed two people just because you wanted something?!” Yami asked in disbelieve. “Y-you’re sick!” He accused.

“And you’re dead!” The hands of the elder man flew to Yami’s neck, wrapping them around it tightly, effectively cutting off the air supply of the teenager. Yami clawed at the hands as his lungs burned and screamed for oxygen at an alarming rate. He tried to scream but all that came out was wheezing sounds, his face started looking a little blue.

 _‘I have to do something!’_ Yami’s mind screamed.

The teenager kneed the man in his stomach, making the elder man release him as he hunched over in pain. The elder man had quite the grip for someone his age. Yami coughed and wheezed, trying to resupply his lungs of the highly needed oxygen. He gingerly touched the bruised skin of his neck. Great, how was he to explain the upcoming bruises to everyone?

The man growled and lunged at Yami again. This time, the teenager was prepared and jumped out of the way. “You’ll never get away with poisoning and stabbing Yuugi to death!” Yami screamed, making a start towards the clear entrance.

“Stabbed?” The man asked, an insane undertone in his voice. “I strangled that little queer to death!” Yami stopped in his escape routed. He first stabbed then chocked Yuugi?! With a battle cry, Yami turned and tackled the old man. The two went tumbling through the room, knocking down artifacts on the displays.

Yami managed to hit a punch on the lower jaw of the man, before he was thrown off. The man landed a couple of punches on Yami’s face. Yami used his feet to kick the man off of him again, spitting out some blood that pooled in his mouth.

“It was all fine and okay, until I found that photo album with those pictures in it!” The man screamed, lunging at Yami again. _‘Does he feel guilty?’_ Yami questioned, dodging the hits. Yamaoka stopped hitting Yami and panted heavily as he glared at Yami. Then he spilled all that happened those years ago.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yuugi stirred slightly as he started to wake up. It was a nice Saturday morning and he was looking forward to the day. He smiled brightly as he stretched his arms with a yawn, hearing the pops coming from his spine. He threw the duvet off of him and jumped out of the bed, Jii-chan should be back already!

He ran into the room across his own, not caring that he made so much sound, as he opened the door and jumped onto the bed. The force made him bounce a couple times before Yuugi stood still. The figure under the covers stirred, showing a tired elder man.

“Yuugi.” The man moaned, lying back down and pulling the duvet over his bed. “It’s too early.” This was muffled. “Come one Jii-chan! You were gone for so long, I missed you.” The boy said adoringly, trying to pull the blanket off of the man. He fought back, not giving up the warmth of his nest.

Yuugi sighed and pouted, giving up on getting his grandfather out of bed. “Fine, stay in bed you lazy old man, I’ll go prepare breakfast.” A chuckle from beneath the covers made Yuugi smile. He got off the bed and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. He was going to make his grandfather’s favorite, tamagoyaki.

It was a simple dish and easy to make. Yuugi cracked the eggs, letting the contents drop into a small bowl, adding soy sauce and sugar to the eggs. He beat them and poured them into the rectangular pan he had prepared. He folded the egg up until it was a roll and plated it up, making tea on the side and other breakfast delicacies.

“Jii-chan! Breakfast is ready!” Yuugi called from the kitchen. He could hear footsteps descending the stairs. “Smells good.” His grandfather walked into the kitchen, dressed in his robe with his pajama pants sticking out from under it. Yuugi grinned, sitting down in his seat at the breakfast table.

The breakfast went by with Yuugi’s grandpa telling him all about the dig he just came home from. Yuugi listened on in awe, those stories always fascinated him. He did feel a little guilty for making his grandpa wake up so early just after the trip, the man looked tired.

Sugoroku shrugged it off, for the sake of his grandson. The boy was all alone when he was away on his digs. With their tummies quite full, Sugoroku excused himself to go take a shower. Yuugi nodded and took the task of cleaning up upon himself. He washed the dishes and put the leftovers away in the fridge.

The doorbell rang just as he put away the last plate. Yuugi already knew who it was.

“Anzu!” He greeted, hugging the brunette with the crystal blue eyes. The embrace was returned and quickly released. “Has Jii-chan already returned?” The teenage girl asked in anticipation. She too, just like Yuugi, loved to hear the stories the elder man had to tell of his adventures.

Yuugi nodded with a sloppy grin. “Yeah, he’s in the shower now though.” The girl puckered her lips. “You can come in though, he still has to unpack his suitcase. Who knows what’s in there.” Yuugi said with a wink. Another thing he loved about his grandfather returning from one of his trips, presents.

Anzu jumped up and down, clapping with her hands. “Neat!” She cheered, walking past Yuugi and sitting down on the couch. The Mutou residence was like a second home to her, so she never shied away.

“Are you hungry? We still have a little tamagoyaki left.” Yuugi asked, sitting next to her. “No thank, I already had breakfast.” Yuugi nodded and leaned back into the couch. “You’re pretty happy he’s back, aren’t you?” Anzu asked, her eyes softening. Yuugi nodded with a happy smile, he hadn’t seen his grandpa for two months. “Why are you still wearing your pajamas?” Anzu asked, looking at Yuugi’s blue starred attire. The boy blushed slightly. “In my excitement of grandpa returning I forgot to dress up.”

“Has that creep visited you during his absence?” Anzu asked, a bit of disgust showing on her pretty features. Yuugi sighed, looking at his best friend with a bit of a reprimanding look. “Anzu he is not a creep, and yes, Yamaoka-kun has visited me a couple times when grandpas was away.” Yuugi answered.

“I just don’t trust him.” Anzu said, shrugging her shoulders. “He’s out to get your puzzle, he might steal it one day.” She suspected. Yuugi rolled his eyes. “No he won’t, he’s a good person.” Yuugi insisted.

“If you say so.” Anzu said, not really convinced. They could hear the water tap turning off, knowing it was only a matter of time till the elder man came downstairs with more stories and presents. Anzu then sighed, playing a little with her sleeves.

“Something wrong?” Yuugi asked concerned. Anzu looked at Yuugi and quickly looked away. She had developed a small crush on her childhood friend, but he showed no signs of returning those feelings, in fact, she sometimes caught the small teen watching other boys with a dreamy look on his face.

“No, nothing.” Anzu said with another small sigh. Sometimes he even tried to set her up with different guys, he didn’t know it, but it did hurt a little. Especially after he tried to set her up with that bastard Ryuuji. _‘The manbitch.’_ Anzu thought with disdain.

“Oh! By the way, have you finished the homework for mathematics? I don’t understand anything!” Yuugi whined, shaking her slightly. Anzu smiled with adoration at her too-cute-for-his-own-good friend.

“Sure, I’ll help you.” She said. Anzu was in the middle of explaining, when Yuugi’s grandfather walked down the stairs, hauling down the suitcase with him. Yuugi shot up from the couch and took the suitcase from his grandpa. “You should’ve called for me Jii-chan!” Yuugi scolded. The small teen was very concerned when it came to his grandfather’s wellbeing.

“Yuugi, I can take care of myself.” The elder man huffed, crossing his arms but letting his grandson take the suitcase down the rest of the stairs. He did understand why the boy was so protective. He was the only nearby family member he had left.

Yuugi dropped the suitcase in the middle of the living room, a little red from the heavy weight. His lithe body was not made to carry heavy things. He sat back down on the couch and waited for his grandpa to open up the suitcase and show them what he had brought.

“Hello Anzu.” The man greeted, seeing the teenage girl sitting on the couch. “Nice to see you’re back in one piece Jii-chan.” The girl replied. “Yes, it’s good to be back.” The man chuckled. “The excavation site is fun and exciting, but there is no place like home.”

The girl smiled at those words. Jii-chan was loved by everyone here. He opened the suitcase, taking out his clothing that was on top. In the middle, there were a couple of wrapped up objects. He took out a smaller package first and handed it to Anzu. “This one’s for you.” He said with a wink.

Anzu took it from the elder man with care and unwrapped the cloth around it. She gasped as she saw the contents of the cloth. “A-are you sure I can have this?” The last couple of words were a little high pitched. The man chuckled and nodded.

In her hands, Anzu held a golden necklace, encrusted with different kinds of precious stones. “I found it in the tomb of Tutankhamen.” Sugoroku told. “Shouldn’t you hand these to the government?” Yuugi asked, raising an eyebrow. He was already used to his grandpa not abiding to the rules, but it never hurt asking. He always got the same response.

“Finders keeper.”

Yuugi rolled his eyes, his grandpa was going to get into trouble if he kept smuggling things from digs to home. “I brought this one for you, Yuugi.” The elder man said, handing Yuugi a different wrapped up object. The short boy unwrapped it and examined the knife that was now exposed.

“It’s really amazing Jii-chan.” Yuugi said, admiring the knife from all angles. “That one also comes from Tutankhamen’s tomb.” He showed another one. “This one is going to the museum, I thought you’d like to have one as well.” The man said with a smile.

Yuugi wasn’t one to like weapons, but this knife was absolutely beautiful. “Thank you Jii-chan.” Yuugi said, hugging the man. Anzu soon joined in, also voicing words of gratitude to the elder man. The telephone started ringing, breaking the moment between the three. “I’ll get it.” Yuugi said, standing up and walking to their phone.

He held the receiver to his ear and listened to the other person, giving a hum in response a couple of times. He turned to his grandfather and Anzu. “It’s for you.” He said a little grimly. The man frowned and stood up, taking the receiver from his grandson.

Like Yuugi, he hummed a couple of times. “All right, that sounds good.” They heard him say. “I have to leave tonight?” Yuugi’s eyes widened at hearing that. Anzu looked between the two with concern written on her face. Was Jii-chan leaving again after just coming back?

“Very well, I will start packing.” The receiver was back in its place. “Jii-chan?” Yuugi asked, not liking the parts he heard of the conversation. “It appears that they have found more rooms in the tomb of Tutankhamen, I have to go back to finish the job.” He announced.

“No!” Yuugi screamed, jumping to his feet. Anzu bit her lip. This argument was nothing new between the Mutou’s, she just preferred to not be present when it happened.

“Yuugi, I cannot leave this unfinished, I must go.” Sugoroku said firmly. “But you just returned!” Yuugi retorted. The elder man sighed. “I know Yuugi, it’ll probably just take a couple more weeks.”

“I don’t care! I finally got you back!”

“I will come back after a couple weeks again.” The voice of them both had risen a little.

“But you’re old! What if some ceiling caves in? And you’re stuck under all that debris?” Yuugi asked, throwing his hands up as he started pacing. Sugoroku shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll just wait till the rescue team comes and saves me.” He answered nonchalantly.

“No you don’t understand. Jii-chan, you know better than me that you are old. Your body isn’t what it was some time ago. It’s very fragile grandpa, I don’t think it could handle the physical labor anymore.”

Sugoroku felt hurt, no he felt insulted. Not because Yuugi was calling him old, he knew that, there was no denying. What did was that Yuugi did not have any faith in him. That was all the convincing Sugoroku needed to go on the next trip.

“I am going and that is final.” He would show Yuugi that he could handle another trip. Yuugi’s mouth opened and closed as the boy tried to form words but couldn’t. Finally he huffed and raced up the stairs. The slamming of a door was heard after.

Anzu had tried to follow him, but was held back by Sugoroku. “He just needs a little time alone… let him have it.” He said with a gentle smile. Anzu looked from the man to the stairs and back. “Jii-chan… are you sure you should go? I mean… Yuugi missed you so much.” The girl said.

Sugoroku sighed, he knew very well that his grandson was missing him. There were very little opportunities for him to contact Yuugi when he was out in the desert. He smiled at the girl again. “You should go home for now, show your mother what you got. I’m sure she’ll like it. I’ll come over to say goodbye later, okay?” Anzu nodded reluctantly and left the household.

Sugoroku trudged up the stairs, feeling his muscles ache a bit… maybe he shouldn’t go to the dig after all… no, he had to prove to Yuugi he was still healthy. The elder knocked on the door of his grandson, hoping to coax him out. “Yuugi, come on… don’t be like this.” He pleaded. They boy was stubborn and made no peep.

The archeologist rubbed his temples. He would give the boy time and space like he told the teenage girl. He went into the room across to prepare for his next trip. The clothing in the suitcase downstairs was all dirtied, so he had to take those out and pack new ones.

He had just finished with his suitcase when the doorbell rang. The elder man stood up with some difficulty, walking down the stairs slowly so he wouldn’t overexert himself. The doorbell rang again, agitating the elder man. He was going as fast as he could!

“I’m coming!” He called, almost at the door. He opened it to reveal one of his biggest fans and student, Yamaoka Kunou. “Ah Kunou-kun, how nice of you to visit me.” The man smiled, though a little tired. “It’s nice that you’re back, Mutou-sensei.” The young man was let in as Sugoroku stepped aside.

“Have you unpacked already?” He asked, seeing all the clothes lying around. Sugoroku chuckled. “Yes and I have repacked as well.” Yamaoka looked confused. “It seems the job wasn’t quite finished yet, I have to return.” He explained.

“How fun!” The young one said, sitting down on the couch. “Yeah, not quite for Yuugi, he is quite upset and hasn’t left his room since I got the phone call.”

“Shall I try and talk to him?” Yamaoka asked, standing up again. “Please.” Sugoroku pleaded. Maybe his pupil could cheer Yuugi up a bit. Yamaoka nodded and went up the stairs, knowing the way in this house.

“Yuugi.” He called, knocking on the door like Sugoroku had done a couple hours earlier. “Go away!” Yuugi screamed from inside. “Yuugi, your grandpa is going away for a bit longer, don’t you at least want to say goodbye?”

“No!” Yuugi screamed.  Of course he would say goodbye to his grandpa, he just couldn’t help but stay upset that his Jii-chan was abandoning him again. He was lying curled up on his bed, the Millennium Puzzle in his hands. He was fiddling a little with it, admiring it from different perspectives. This was his favorite thing he had gotten from his grandfather. A couple more tears slipped from his eyes as he cradled the pyramid to his chest.

Yamaoka went back downstairs, where Sugoroku was waiting. “He won’t come out.” Sugoroku sighed and his expression saddened. “How about this? I will make you dinner while you rest up for your trip. I’m sure Yuugi will come out by then.” The young man suggested.

Sugoroku smiled brightly. “I would love that if it isn’t too much to ask.”

“Not at all! Leave everything up to me! I’ll start right away!” Sugoroku thanked him, going upstairs to prepare other necessities for traveling, such as his passport and hand luggage. Yamaoka went into the kitchen en immediately started on the meal for the old man.

Since he was a student, he made something he made a lot, curry rice. He poured some rice into a pan, added water and let that cook. In a different pot, he poured water and threw in some plants, flowers, leafs, stems and even the root still attached to it. He let that boil for about ten minutes, scooped the plant out of the pot, putting them in a bag and pocketing it. He didn’t want to leave evidence after all.

Yamaoka smiled as he made the curry with that water. Hemlock… it was the most easily obtained poison ever. They would never be able to find him. He whistled a happy tune as he plated up the rice, pouring the curry sauce to one side. He wanted the Millennium Puzzle and he wanted it today.

Before calling the man downstairs, Yamaoka swiftly took the spare house key from the key cabinet, slipping it into his pocket.

Upstairs, the archeologist had opened the door of his grandson’s room. He had to leave for the airport after dinner. He wanted to say goodbye before he left, even if Yuugi was a little angry with him. He found the short boy curled up on his bed, his back rising and falling steadily.

Sugoroku smiled as he walked over silently, turning Yuugi around, careful so he didn’t wake the boy up. “I’ll be leaving soon Yuugi, take care okay?” He leaned over to kiss his grandson on his forehead. “Always know that I love you.” Yuugi cooed in his sleep, hugging the Millennium Puzzle closer to his chest. He wanted to leave as he noticed something on the nightstand of Yuugi. Next to his lamp, was the black leather collar of their deceased dog, Pochi.

“Are you still holding on to this?” He whispered, a chuckle escaping his lips. “You are such a sweet boy Yuugi.” With a last smile and look at the boy, he soundlessly left the room and down the stairs.

“Kunou-kun, could you do me one more favor and get my suitcase from upstairs? Try to be as quiet as possible because Yuugi has fallen asleep. He’s had a tough day and I don’t want him to wake up.”

“Of course sensei, you should start eating though, don’t want to miss your flight, do you?”

“I’m not so sure actually….” The man hesitated. Yamaoka shook his head. “You should go sensei! If you won’t do it, someone else will take credit for all your hard work. You should go. Yuugi might be upset now, but he will be very proud when you come back again!” It would be in his advantage if the man left.

He could be a suspect if the man died and the puzzle was gone, along with the younger boy killed. The man ate his dinner, oblivious of the deadly substance within. Yamaoka took the plate after the man was done. “You go on ahead, I will take these to the kitchen.”

“Thank you so much Kunou-kun.”

Sugoroku went outside, briefly visiting the Mazaki’s to say goodbye like he promised. He had to wait a couple of minutes before his taxi had arrived. Yamaoka had followed Sugoroku, closing the door behind him. The chauffeur had loaded the suitcase in the trunk and waited for the elder to say his last goodbye. “Thank you for all you have done Kunou-kun… please take good care of Yuugi while I’m gone.”

“I will Sugoroku-sensei. You take care too.” With one last pat on the back, Sugoroku stepped into the car. Yamaoka waved as the car drove away.

Good riddance.

Now to get that puzzle. He used the key he had slipped into his pocket earlier to open the door, trying to be as silent as possible.

He gathered the utensils he made the curry with and the plate and cutlery. Those he needed to dispose of. When he made his way to the room, he saw something glistening on the floor. On further inspection, he notices that it was a knife. The one Yuugi had dropped that morning. Yamaoka picked it up, in case he would have to need it. He slipped it into his boot, might he need to draw it out quickly.

He tiptoed to the upper level of the house, carefully opening the door to the sleeping boy’s room. Just like Sugoroku had said, the boy was in a peaceful slumber. Yamaoka grinned as he saw his price, in the safety of Yuugi’s arms.

He sneaked to the bedside, grabbing the item from the chain Yuugi had attached to the ring on top of the puzzle. He tried tugging it lightly but the item didn’t budge. On the contrary, Yuugi held onto it even tighter in his sleep.

Yamaoka growled, giving one harsh tug on the chain. Yuugi awakened with a gasp. He looked up to see the figure of Yamaoka looming over him.

“Yamaoka-kun, what are you doing here? Where is grandpa?” Since Yuugi’s eyes were still a little blurry with sleep, he could not see the expression on the face of the older boy. Before he knew it, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. The boy cried out in pain as he rolled over and grabbed his aching side. The same pain appeared on his other side, before going to his shoulder.

He let out a bloodcurdling scream every time the knife plunged into his flesh. _‘Shit! He’s making too much sound!’_ Yamaoka thought angrily as Yuugi continued screaming his pain. The blood of the boy had started staining the mattress. Yuugi jumped up, despite the pain and tried to escape. In his haste, he had accidently knocked down the lamp on his nightstand. A shattering sound was heard as the fragile lamp came into contact with the floor.

Yuugi held onto his curtains for support as he was feeling week from the blood loss. Yamaoka was not happy with Yuugi trying to escape. He slammed the boy into the wall and looked around, for anything to get rid of his witness.

The leather band had caught the eye of the young man. He grabbed it and wrapped it around the neck of the ailing boy, closing it on its tightest size. It effectively worked as a silencer. Yuugi clawed at the collar, trying to get it off, but his trembling hands could not do much. His heart rate weakened at an alarming rate, the loss of oxygen combined with the blood loss of the fresh wounds.

Yuugi tried to gasp for air, black spots appearing in his sight. Yuugi could only wheeze and weakly claw at his attacker, as he slipped into unconsciousness. The puzzle fell from his limp fingers, making clattering sounds as it slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.

Yamaoka growled, great now he had to get rid of a body after all. He picked up the bled out boy, leaving the puzzle on the floor for now. He carried him down, to the basement Sugoroku had shown him one time. It was his own storage room for artifacts he wanted to examine himself. He had planned on chopping up the body and hide it in the big pots there, but got a better idea once he saw the equipment.

Sugoroku had mentioned he wanted to divide the basement into two rooms…. All he needed was there! A sledgehammer, cement and material for finishing it off. He unceremoniously dropped the boy to the floor. He was dead, it was not like he could hurt him anymore.

Yamaoka grabbed the sledgehammer and started ramming the wall in the far back. He made a hole, only for Yuugi’s body to fit. After picking the icy cold and stiff boy up again, he pushed him into the wall. He fitted in perfectly. He hung Yuugi up by his clothing so the boy would stay upright while he closed the hole up. Thinking it’s best to dispose of the knife, how pretty it may be, was best as well.

It would take a little while but this way he was sure the body would not be found for quite some time. Even if the police came, Sugoroku had hid the door to his basement quite well, might there be a robbery in his home.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sugoroku clenched his teeth a little as his muscles ached quite intensely. He was sitting at the waiting room at the airport, having checked in and given his luggage. He was truly considering going back home. Maybe Yuugi was right… maybe he was getting too old for this.

_“Yuugi might be upset now, but he will be very proud when you come back again!”_

The voice of Yamaoka echoed through his head. He smiled, remembering Yuugi’s happy faces whenever he came back. Sure, Yuugi was always upset whenever he left to go on a dig. This dig would be his last, then he would retire. For Yuugi’s sake.

“Flight EA-564 to Cairo, Egypt, will be boarding now at gate 4.” The announcer said over the intercom.

“That’s our flight.” Professor Hopkins, Sugoroku’s friend and colleague said, patting the man on the shoulder once before standing up. The other nodded, standing up with a lot of difficulty. The two of them together walked over to the desk, showing the attendant their ticket.

They got on the plane and were seated. Sugoroku squeezed his eyes shut. Why was his body aching so much?

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yamaoka wiped his brow as he looked at his handiwork. The whole back wall was now covered in the cement. Fortunately for him, this one was a quick drying kind. He smirked; the puzzle was finally all his now.

He rushed up the flight of stairs, to the room of the little boy. There it was, the puzzle. He picked it up and wore it like a necklace, like the short boy had done so many times. He covered up the bloodstains on the bed with the duvet and went downstairs.

To finish the job, he gathered all the contaminated kitchenware and left the house.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sugoroku gasped, as he felt excruciating pain in all his body. Professor Hopkins held his friend as he started screaming. Everyone around them started whispering and panicking.

“Is there a doctor?!” Hopkins yelled desperately, looking around. A couple people of the plane shook their heads. Flight attendants had rushed over with medical supplies.

“Sir, where does it hurt most?” She asked in a calm voice. Sugoroku’s pale shivering hand went over to his heart with much difficulty. “A heart attack.” The attendant concluded. Sugoroku tried to shake his head, but with the pain, he could barely move. His feet and legs were already completely paralyzed.

He swallowed the saliva that had gathered in his mouth. This was definitely no heart attack. The upper legs of the man lost all feeling and Sugoroku knew he had little time left. Once his torso was paralyzed as well, his body would give up.

“Arthur.” He called in his raspy voice.

“What is it Sugoroku?” The elder man said as he held his friend. “Tell… Yuugi… I’m… sorry.” He managed out with a lot of difficulty.

“Don’t say such things! You will make it.” Arthur tried.

“Legs… dead…” Sugoroku groaned out. He still had feelings in his arm, so he felt the sedative the flight attendant gave him. The pain did lessen a bit, at least he would go peaceful.

Professor Hopkins tilted up the pant leg of his friend. Like he had said, the leg was ice cold and slightly swollen. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, holding back his tears.

“Miss, is there a way he can sleep undisturbed?” He asked. “Yes certainly, he can sleep in the rest area of the attendances.” The flight attendance that treated Sugoroku told. Arthur, along with a young man who volunteered to help, carried Sugoroku’s unconscious body to the rest area. They lied him down on the bed, the young man having to return to his seat at the attendance’s request.

“Will he make it?” She asked concerned. In her years of being a flight attendant, she had never experienced it, fortunately she was trained for it. Arthur shook his head solemnly, a couple of tears slipping through their defense. “I understand. You may stay here with him, I will tell the pilot what happened and alert the authorities.” She said and left.

The air was heavy in the area. Sugoroku’s chest was still rising and falling. But it wasn’t long, for the breathing to slow.

The attendance went to the front of the plane, where she got the attention of the passengers. “Ladies and gentlemen, the elder man just now had angina and has lost consciousness, there is nothing to worry about. He will rest in the crew rest area until we land. Please do not concern yourselves.” She announced. Their procedure was, just pretend the deceased has lost consciousness. They had not the power to declare someone dead. She shuddered as she was out of the passenger’s sight. The poor man….

Arthur finally allowed the waterworks to flow freely as he covered Sugoroku’s face with the blanket. Arthur Hopkins had just witnessed the last breath of Mutou Sugoroku.


	15. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah last chapter!
> 
> But the first four chapters have been beta'd and I have also posted a couple on fanfiction.  
> This chapter is sad, so beware~  
> But I only do happy endings so no worries.

Yami’s breathing got heavier and heavier the more Yamaoka told him about his deeds in the past. Yuugi and Sugoroku were all innocent people! They had no reason to die, Yamaoka was insane!

The teenager did not know why Yamaoka was suddenly telling him all this, what had happened about four decades ago, but he did not mind. The man was dead set on killing him, the whole story just bought him more time. Yami would not let it go to waste and tried to tackle the man once more.

Yamaoka saw it coming and pushed Yami away. “I do wonder my dear Yami. How? How did you know I had taken these?” The man said gesturing to the seven Millennium Items. Yami followed the gesture and one more thing caught his eye. Hung on the wall, were the three Egyptian God cards in a golden frame.

“It was you who had stolen my God cards!” Yami squeaked. The man looked at the frame as well. He turned back to Yami with a grin. “Yes, you were so naïve Yami-chan. You just flaunted with them everywhere. I thought they deserved better.” The man said. Yami grit his teeth as tears started rolling down his cheek. Tears of betrayal.

“I told you because I trusted you!” He screamed, lunging at the man again. All thoughts of escaping were long gone. All he wanted to do was hurt this man, elder or not. “How foolish of you.” The man growled. This time he caught Yami by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the opposite wall. Yami winced as he got the air knocked out of him.

“You have yet to answer my question, _how_ did you know it was me?” The man growled near his ear. “The sheath.” Yami managed out.

“What?!” The man sneered. Yami saw no reason to lie to the man. “The sheath of the knife you stabbed Yuugi with! I found the knife in his house and it was a perfect fit!” Yami screamed at the man. The elder let go of the teenager and ran back into his living room. It was just as the teenager had told him, the framed sheath was missing. He had passed the alarm of as an insect landing on the bookcase for the alarm sensors were extremely sensitive. He had never seen anyone leaving his house that night. It wouldn’t be the first time that the alarm went off by some insect or rodent.

“You stole it!” He snarled at Yami. The boy, who had also left the secret room and entered the living room, shook his head. “I didn’t, a friend of mine did.” He managed out, holding his left side. The man might’ve been old, he could still pack a punch.

“And that was just the first test. The day I asked if you if you knew the people in the picture with Sugoroku, Yuugi and his parents. You said you didn’t, while Yuugi defended you when I suspected you. He told me how you always came over to talk with his grandfather.” Yami said, sending hateful glares at the man.

Yamaoka’s face contorted into that of confusion. “What do you mean by defended me when you suspected me? The brat is long gone, I buried him myself.” The man sneered. “Because of you, his spirit never found rest, he has been wandering the Earth, yearning for his most precious possession, which you stole from him!” Yami’s voice rose with every word.

The man was silent as he absorbed all that Yami told him. “He doesn’t even know you murdered him. Hell! He didn’t even know his own name in the beginning! Everyone has forgotten about him!” Tears were starting to run down Yami’s cheeks again.

“And how is this of my concern?” The man asked, no emotion on his face, his voice equally blank.

“It’s all your fault! If you never killed Yuugi… If you never took the puzzle!!!....”

_“I never would’ve met Yuugi….”_

The thought had him caught off guard momentarily. Yamaoka saw this and grabbed one of the swords on display, sliding it out of the sheath. The scraping of metal had Yami thrown back into reality. He gasped as he saw the man charging at him, sword ready to strike. Yami’s eyes widened and he gulped. The first swing he could dodge, jumping to the left. He landed on his sore spot and could not get up.

Yamaoka knew he had him cornered. Yami was in pain, with no place to go. The man chuckled, walking slowly towards him. Yami did his best to try and get up, but gravity was not on his side. The pain was too much, his arms wobbled and he collapsed right back to the floor.

“You are all so foolish. Everyone in this stupid town is.” The man said as he walked, agonizingly slow towards Yami, cornering the boy more and more, the sword scraping on the floor as he walked.

“I only have to play a frail old man and everyone is fooled! The museum, they never will know it was me. If it wasn’t for that godforsaken Yuugi, you wouldn’t have either!” The man screamed. Yami’s life had flashed by, it wasn’t long for he wasn’t even seventeen yet! The last flash was Yuugi’s face, crying, pleading for Yami to help him.

Yamaoka was standing by him now, towering over the short teen. “Any last words?” He asked, his voice filled with malice, insensitive and with no regrets. Yami sniffled as more tears escaped his eyes. He did not want to die yet! The fear of death washed over him, he could not utter even one word.

“So be it.” The man said, raising the sword, aiming at Yami’s heart.

Yami squeezed his eyes shut and shielded himself with his arms and hands out of instinct. The sword would probably slice through them, but it was all the protection he had. A loud gong was heard and Yami flinched. The loud sound was followed by a clatter and a thud.

He waited for what seemed like hours more for pain and the embrace of death but none of those came. He slowly opened one of his eyes, peeking out at his murderer, to see him lying face down on the floor, the sword fallen by his side. He looked up to see the teary eyes of his white haired friend.

“Ryou….” Yami whispered, his voice filled with fear, relief, gratitude.

“Yami….” Ryou whispered back in mostly the same emotions. The white haired boy dropped the metal tray he was holding and ran over to fallen boy, embracing him in a tight hug.

“I thought you were going to die!” The white haired one cried out, tears running from his eyes as well. Yami sniffed, burying his face in the neck of his savior. “So did I….” He sobbed. They stood like that, never letting go of the other. They felt that, if they let go, one of them would die.

“W-when you and the old man didn’t return after half an hour… I-I got w-worried. S-so I c-came up to check… a-and there I s-saw him.” Ryou sobbed. “Thank you Ryou…. Without you… who knows what would’ve happened.” Yami said with a sigh. He didn’t even want to think what could’ve happened.

“Come on, let’s go.” Ryou said, after he had regained his composure. He offered a hand to Yami, which he gladly took.  When standing up, he hissed and embraced the left side of his abdomen. Ryou cautiously lifted the shirt to see a very big and ugly dark purple blotch.

“You should let that get checked out Yami… there might be something broken, it has to be bruised in the least.” Ryou said tentatively touching the bruise. Yami hissed again as the fingers made contact. Ryou immediately retracted his hands, lowering the shirt back down.

“Yeah….” Yami agreed, leaning against Ryou for support. “What shall we do about him?” Ryou asked. Yami knew even without Ryou pointing him out. “Do me a favor Ryou, push the coffee table aside and drag him into the middle of the room.” Yami said.

Ryou looked at him questioningly and reluctantly nodded his head. He pushed the table and dragged the unconscious man to the middle of the room, like Yami had told him. Yami had picked up the sword and walked over to where the man lay. Ryou watched carefully.

“You’re not going to kill him… are you?”

Yami shook his head. “That would make me the same as him.” He said hoarsely. Yami lifted the sword over his head and thrust it down with all the strength he could muster into the hip of the elder man. A sickening crack was heard as the sword went through bone and flesh. Yami tugged it a couple times to see if the swords could be pulled out easily.

It didn’t. Just like he wanted. Ryou watched wide-eyed at what Yami just had done. He was cowering near the exit. “W-why did you do that?!” He screamed pointing at the sword imbedded in the hip of the elder man.

“So he can’t escape.” Yami said coldly. He stepped over the unconscious body and walked back into the secret room with the priceless artifacts. A minute later, he emerged with the solid golden Millennium Puzzle around his neck and the framed god cards under his arms.

“Let’s go.” He said. His voice had warmed a little bit, however it still gave Ryou shivers running down his spine. He glanced at the fallen man once more before following after the spiky haired teenager.

Had felt no remorse when he stabbed the man with the sword. That was what scared him. Hurting Yamaoka had felt so good. He had never before enjoyed hurting a living being. In the shop, a couple of the customers looked annoyed that there was no one attending the cash register. That annoyed look turned into confusion as Yami walked out of the store without saying anything. Ryou followed soon after, giving the people an apologetic look. He closed the door behind him in case someone decided to go up and check where the store owner was and found him stabbed to the floor.

“I’m sorry but the store is closed for now. The owner wasn’t feeling very well.” He said with a small bow. All the customers complained as they piled out of the store. Yami was waiting for Ryou outside, watching all the people go outside, looking not too happy.

The white haired boy flipped the sign to closed and shut the door behind him. “I want you to go home and forget about all this.” Yami ordered. “It’s best if you’re not involved. I’ll call the police and tell them everything. It will only get troublesome if they question you too as an accomplice, in case they decide to have trial against me.” Ryou nodded, understanding the other male.

“Be careful.” Ryou said, going his own way. Yami walked the other direction. The Millennium puzzle felt really heavy on his neck. He wondered how Yuugi would walk around with this thing. He adjusted the framed cards under his right arm and searched for a nearby phone booth.

He laid the frame against the glass booth and inserted some change in the slot after picking up the receiver. He dialed the number of the alarm central and waited for someone to pick up.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yami trudged through the streets of Domino city. He cradled the inverted pyramid in his hands as he waited for the pedestrian light to turn from red to green. The moment he gave Yuugi the puzzle, the boy would leave him. Forever.

Yami was seriously considering not giving it to him. But it was pointless. He couldn’t even touch the boy anymore, Yuugi would be unhappy, going through everything and everyone for the rest of his life. Also, he wanted to stop seeing the boy cry.

With a heavy sigh, Yami decided that it was best if Yuugi passed on. Only one more block left before he was at home. One block left from losing Yuugi. With a heavy heart, he walked the distance to his home. He took off the puzzle at the door and hid it behind his back.

“Yuugi?” He called out as he walked into the living room. He found the boy watching the television screen blankly. As fascinated as he was in the beginning, watching television incessantly would get incredibly boring. The eyes lit up as he saw the living male.

“I’m so glad you came!” The boy said with a smile, wiping away his tears as he floated towards Yami. Yuugi’s smile fell as he saw the bitter smile on Yami’s face. “Is something wrong?” Yuugi asked, watching the boy in concern.

“I found it Yuugi.” Yami said. “Found what?” Yuugi asked, not liking that Yami was being so cryptic. He gasped. “You found my?” He could not finish his sentence. Yami nodded solemnly, taking the object from behind his back.

Yuugi gasped and started trembling all over. He reached over to it to grab it but stopped. “What if I leave?” He whispered, the puzzle just within reach. “It’s better if you do.” Yami said with a sad smile, holding out the puzzle closer to Yuugi. The golden pyramid was now dangling just above Yuugi’s outstretched hands.

Yuugi gulped and cradled the puzzle in his hands. He gasped as ethereal warmth engulfed him. For the first time in his forty years of being a ghost, he stopped crying. “Yami.” The boy whispered. He could touch again.

Rays of light protruded from Yuugi’s translucent form. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around the neck of Yami, intend of kissing the other one more time. Yami wrapped his arms around Yuugi’s waist, feeling the warmth radiating off the boy. The frame dropped from under his arms in the process.

They leaned into each other, their lips were just a hair’s breadth apart, when the light completely engulfed the boy and he disappeared. Yami gasped and chocked on sobs as the light that was once Yuugi, was now just thousands of small light particles shimmering as they floated to the ground and disappeared. Yami dropped to his knees and let the waterworks flow freely. Once again, he had lost a loved one. His head was bent to the floor and clutched the chain of the Millennium Puzzle which Yuugi had dropped when he passed on.

“Take good care of the Puzzle for me Yami… I love you.”

Yami’s head shot up to look where the voice came from. It was Yuugi’s voice, but Yuugi himself was gone.

“I promise.” Yami said in a shuddering whisper.

-o-o-o-o-o-

 “Tonight on Domino’s news. The prime ministers of Japan and China have signed a treaty over the feud of the isles located in the Sea of Japan. A fatal traffic accident at Hokkaido. The tallest man has gotten married but first. Local student of Domino High has discovered the robber of the Millennium Items, which were stolen from Domino Museum a couple of weeks ago.”

The camera switched over to the man. He straightened out his stack of papers before looking at the camera. “This afternoon at the Yamaoka Game Shop, police have found the elder man with a sword embedded in his right hip.

On the scene the police found him trying to get the sword out but had not succeeded. During a raid, the police had found a room with the stolen six Millennium items on display and more. The police arrested the man on the spot.”

The camera switched back to the woman. “The elder man that the local people were very familiar with, had shouted something about a ghost?” The woman looked questioningly at her colleague.

“Yes, some think that the man had lost his mind.” The man nodded. “The local student who had alerted the authorities, was Sennen Yami, sixteen years old.” The woman told, a photo of Yami appearing on the screen. “The teenager had been recorded calling the alarm center from a public telephone boot.” She said, a footage of Yami calling from the phone appeared instead of the picture.

“The teenager has refused to be interviewed.”

“It makes you wonder, how in the world did the boy know where the items were?” The man asked the woman. “It makes us all wonder indeed. It also makes us wonder where the teenager has disappeared to.” The woman answered.

Anzu gasped as the remote control fell out of her hand. Had Yami… what was that boy thinking?! She immediately stood up and grabbed her phone. With shaky fingers she entered the phone number of Yami’s mobile phone. The dial tone seemed to go on endlessly as the boy never picked up his phone.

She paced the room for a little while in panic. Then she remembered that Yami had given her the phone number of Jounouchi when he first moved in. She frantically searched for the notebook in her purse. Flipping to the page with the number, she punched it in and waited for the lanky blond to pick up his phone, hopefully.

 _“Hello?”_ Came the confused voice of the blond.

“Jounouchi-kun?” Anzu asked.

_“Anzu-baachan?”_

“Yes this is me. Have you seen the news just now?” She asked. After the blond had told her he hadn’t, Anzu immediately told him what she just saw.

 _“No way!”_ The blond screamed. Anzu had to move the phone away from her ear so it wouldn’t damage even more. “I was wondering if you had any idea where he might be?” Anzu asked a little frantically. Jounouchi hummed on the other line in thought.

 _“I think I know where he might be.”_ Jounouchi had said before he hung up. Anzu sighed, lowering the phone from her ear and sitting down on the couch. She did not want to lose another grandchild as well.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Jounouchi panted as he peddled to the place where he was sure Yami was. The old house was soon in sight. A little too soon for Jounouchi. He shakily dropped his bicycle next to a very familiar one. Tentatively he walked to the front door and pushed open the partly opened door.

“Yami?!” He called out, using his hands as amplifiers.

“Jounouchi~” Came Yami’s singsong voice from above. Jounouchi was flabbergasted at the response. Wasn’t Yami supposed to be depressed because Yuugi left? He carefully walked up the stairs, wary of all the rotten wood and made it to the door of the bedroom, previously belonging to Yuugi.

What he found made his eyes bulge out. Yami was hugging the Puzzle to his chest and rolling around on the bed, humming a tune to himself. He stopped rolling on the mattress and rolled the floor with a thud when he spotted the blond.

“Jounouchi~” He sang again with a goofy grin. The spiky haired teenager stood up but wobbled when he was upright and fell to the mattress on his butt. The impact made him laugh madly.

“Y-Yami what happened?!” Jounouchi said concerned as he tried to steady his friend. Yami flapped with his arms as if he wanted to fly and let his back fall unto the mattress completely, still laughing.

“I found some bottles with icky good stuff!” He yelled, continuing to roll on the bed. “Icky good stuff?” Jounouchi questioned. Yami stopped his rolling and crawled over to Jounouchi. “Yes, downstairs. I found it downstairs.” He whispered in the ear of his friend. Now Jounouchi understood. Yami’s breath reeked of alcohol. “But don’t tell anyone or else they might take away from us.” Yami said in a hushed tone, before bursting into laughter again.

“Ooh… Yami… please don’t drink alcohol to relieve your pain… there are other ways.” Jounouchi said sadly as he rubbed his laughing friend’s back.  Yami ceased his laughter to stare blankly at Jounouchi. He snorted once and went into a fit of giggles.

“The grape-y one was okay but the other one tasted like pee!”

Jounouchi concluded that Yami was talking about wine and beer. The blond let out a sigh and helped his friend stand up. Yami wobbled again and fell forwards into Jounouchi’s chest this time. He gently pushed Yami back on the bed and took out his phone.

If Yami could not even stand properly, how in the world was he going to get him home on a bicycle?

“Marik, can I request something from you? I need you to borrow Ishizu’s car again and come and get Yami. He is drunk out of his mind.” Jounouchi said quickly.

_“Uhm… Ishizu had me grounded, remember?”_

“Then ask if she brings you or something! I need to get him home!” Jounouchi yelled into the receiver. Grumbling was heard on the other line before Marik consented and asked his sister. Jounouchi got a message a couple minutes later from Marik telling him that Ishizu would be picking them up.

In the meantime, Jounouchi would just have to keep Yami in check. The spiky haired boy stopped rolling and picked up the pyramid hanging around his neck.

“Yuugi.” He murmured, planting some kisses on the cold surface of the pyramid. He moaned low in his throat and kissed the surface again. Jounouchi gulped as he averted his gaze.

 _“Ishizu, please be quick!”_ He mentally pleaded. Fortunately for the blond, Yami had stopped kissing and started sobbing hysterically. Jounouchi walked over to his side and rubbed his arms soothingly. “It’ll all be all right buddy.” He said soothingly. “You will find someone new someday.”

“I only want Yuugi!” Yami cried out, flailing his legs and arms wildly in a tantrum. Jounouchi subdued him by grabbing his arms and wrapping his legs around the crying teen. Yami’s movements were restrained so his crying eventually died down to sobs.

“Jounouchi!” He heard someone calling from downstairs. Jounouchi thanked the heavens that Ishizu had come so quickly. “We’re upstairs!”

“The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout~” Yami sudden sang, his crying forgotten. Jounouchi smacked his forehead. Two sets of footsteps were heard ascending the stairs. “In here!” Jounouchi called.

Marik and Ishizu emerged, staring wide-eyed at the glazy eyed singing teenager. “Let’s go.” He nodded, lifting the unstable Yami up in his arms. Ishizu nodded and lead them downstairs, and to the car. Marik loaded both their bicycle in the trunk of the car. Once everyone was seated and they were on the road back, Ishizu started with the questions.

“Why is Yami drunk?” She asked, glancing at the still singing and clapping teenager. Marik and Jounouchi both bit their lips. “Y-Yami has lost someone close to him….” Jounouchi said. He tried to be as vague as possible.

“So, Yami succeeded in saving Mutou Yuugi, huh?” She asked, her eyes back on the road again. Jounouchi and Marik looked at her with a perplexed expression. “Nee-san how did you know!?” Marik asked, well more like exclaimed. Ishizu simply shrugged her shoulders. “Yami told me.” She said simply.

“Remind me to never entrust Yami with my secrets again.” Marik muttered.

“What secrets?” Ishizu questioned, like she was asking about the weather.

“N-nothing!” Marik immediately covered up.

“Marik has a boyfriend!” Yami shouted from the backseat. Marik flinched and glanced at his sister from the corner of his eye. Her expression did not change.

“When do I get to meet him?” She asked him. “H-he lives in Egypt.” Marik murmured. Ishizu only hummed. Marik send Yami death glares through the rearview mirror. The spiky haired teen ignored them and started singing again.

“In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion leaps tonight~”

“It’s ‘sleeps’ Yami, not leaps.” Jounouchi corrected.

“In the jungle the mighty jungle the lions leaps tonight!” Yami sang in louder volume. Jounouchi sighed and rolled his eyes. Don’t argue with a drunken Yami.

“We’re here.” Ishizu said, pulling over at the curb near Yami’s house. Yami had stopped singing, after he forgot the lyrics to the song so just settled on humming the tune, much to the relief of the others. Jounouchi carried him like he had done in the old house. He laid the still humming Yami down on his bed. “Yami, go into your bed and then go to sleep. I will check up on you in a couple minutes.” Jounouchi ordered. Yami nodded obediently and started rolling himself around his blanket, in attempts to go under the covers, but ended up becoming a burrito.

Jounouchi closed the door and went back to Ishizu and Marik, who were waiting in the living room. Marik was blushing like crazy and Ishizu had an out of character smug-like smirk on her face. “I haven’t even met him yet!” Marik had harshly whispered at his sister.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t have phone sex.” Ishizu retorted. Jounouchi chuckled at the exchange. This was why Marik wanted to keep it a secret. The blush on his cheeks darkened. “Just remember to be safe.” She lectured. Marik groaned and Jounouchi chuckled again.

Ishizu now noticed the blond boy was standing there as well. “What do we do now?” She asked. “I will call Anzu-baachan and tell her that Yami will be staying with me, because he is mourning. I think he had told her as well so she’ll understand. I will also stay the night here to keep an eye on him.” Jounouchi told, jabbing a finger at the door.

Ishizu nodded. “Let me check up on him and then I will be on my way.” She walked to the bedroom door and opened it. A shriek left her lips as her eyes doubled in size, her hands flying to cover up her mouth. Marik and Jounouchi rushed in worry to see what had happened.

“Aw sick!” Marik yelled, jumping back.

Yami had rolled up the blanket, his pants and boxers were at his thighs and he was moaning and humping the blanket. “Yuugi….” He would moan out occasionally.

Jounouchi pushed everyone back and slammed the door shut. “I think its best you leave.” He said a little dryly. Ishizu, who had paled a little, nodded and left to her car. Marik quickly unloaded both bikes from the trunk and got in as well.

Jounouchi sat in the living room as he waiting for Yami to ‘finish’ his business. The moaning got louder and louder. The blond felt incredibly awkward but he also couldn’t leave Yami alone when the boy needed him the most.

The loudest moan yet was heard and then all was silent. With bated breath he opened the door and peeked inside. Yami was softly snoring against the rolled up blanket. Jounouchi released the sigh of relief and awkwardly pulled Yami’s pants up. He had seen the boy naked before in the locker rooms but this was just plain awkward.

Yami was dressed, sort of, so Jounouchi rolled him over so he was lying on his back. He grabbed the stained blanket from a clean edge and pulled it off of the bed. From the closet he grabbed a new blanket, happy that Yami hadn’t brought those along to Anzu’s and covered the boy.

“You’re going to have the worst hangover ever Yami, be prepared.” Jounouchi chuckled. He grabbed a spare pillow and lied down on the couch, not trusting to sleep next to his friend at the moment.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yami groaned as he rolled over. He was having a splitting headache. He slowly lifted himself up on his elbows, the movements making him dizzy. He blinked a couple times in hopes to clear the blurriness away.

Yami never really noticed that he was back in his own house. There were some clinking sounds coming from the kitchen. He groaned again as he sat up completely, holding his head for a moment to stop the dizzy feeling. He carefully made it out, holding the wall for support.

“Anzu-baachan?” He moaned pathetically. He could not find the reason why he had this headache, nor could he remember what he did the day before. Everything was blank after he walked around the house of the Mutou’s.

“Yami!” Came the masculine voice from the kitchen. The teenager winced as even that was too loud in his ears. He stumbled to the kitchen and dropped down on the chair at his small dining table. The aroma of the food smelled both delicious and nauseating.

“I see you woke up.” Jounouchi said with a smile. Yami only grumbled incoherent things in return. Jounouchi ignored him and continuing cooking what smelled like bacon. “Where did you get the food?” Yami asked, his voice hoarse from the dry throat.

Jounouchi chuckled, putting a glass of water in front of Yami’s slouched over form. The hung over boy gladly took it and gulped it down. “I made a quick trip to the supermarket. It’s already past noon you know.” Jounouchi answered, putting the bacon on a plate. Yami grimaced seeing the strips of meat.

“I don’t think my stomach can handle this at the moment.” He said, pushing the plate a little farther away from him. “Way ahead of you.” Jounouchi smiled, putting a packet of dry crackers in front of Yami. The boy gratefully took them and nibbled at the cracker, afraid that big bites would upset his stomach. His blond friend pushed the plate towards him. “Try one, see if you can handle it.”

Yami reluctantly picked up on strip and slowly ate it. He had managed two strips when he felt the nausea get too much. “Thank you for cooking them Jou, but I really can’t.” Yami said apologetically. “Your loss.” Jounouchi said with a shrug, scarfing down the rest of them.

“Do you happen to know why I feel like shit?” Yami asked, his head resting on the small kitchen table. “You don’t remember?” Jounouchi asked, “I guess that was to be expected. You were piss drunk last night.” Yami had lifted his head to stare at his friend.

“W-what did I do?” He asked, not really certain if he wanted to know for sure. “Do you want me to tell you the truth or cover up?” Jounouchi asked, putting his fork on the empty plate. “Truth.” Yami said.

“Well… you were rolling around on Yuugi’s bed, then you started kissing the puzzle, sang children songs and finally… you had sex with your blanket.” Jounouchi said the last part with a little blush. Yami’s head had shot up to look at the other boy in horror, his jaw almost hitting the table. “You’re fucking with me.” He breathed. Jounouchi shook his head. Yami’s head dropped and hit the table, which really didn’t help his already raging headache.

“I’d avoid Ishizu and Marik for a little as well, they saw you doing… it.” Yami’s head dropped and hit the table a couple of times in regret of what he did in his alcohol induced state. Jounouchi grabbed him and helped him stand up. “Let’s get you somewhere soft.” He said, gently pushing the boy to the living room. Yami lay down on the couch.

“You… were moaning Yuugi’s name.” Jounouchi said a little uncertain. He didn’t want to remind Yami of the deceased boy. Yami curled up, hugging his knees to his chest. “I miss him.” His voice cracked as he spoke. Jounouchi sighed, rubbing Yami’s arm soothingly. “I know you do… but what you did was for the best. He deserved it after so many years of roaming.”

Yami said nothing but gave an almost unnoticeable nod. “You’re a great friend Jou. Thank you.” Jounouchi’s eyes softened, squeezing the arm in comfort. “You’re welcome Yami.”

After the small drunken adventure, Yami stayed away from the stuff. He did not go to school to avoid Marik after the male saw his embarrassing moment. Every day, one could find the teenager lying on the bloody bed in the abandoned house. He would go there in the morning and come back at the late hours of the night. Anzu did not question him, after she got the explanation from Jounouchi. She just looked on sadly as the empty shell of the teenager woke up in the morning and went to the last place he had left that connected him to his love. The boy was rapidly losing weight and worrying all his friends.

It was one of these days, that Yami was sitting in the living room with the puzzle in his hands. He was caressing the object with care, it was the most important possession of Yuugi after all. He was startled when the door suddenly slammed open. A man walked inside and stopped when he spotted the teenager sitting on the tattered couch.

“What are you doing here kid?” He asked confused.

“What are YOU doing here?” Yami retorted stubbornly. The man raised an eyebrow but decided to answer anyway. Just checking things out.” The man said, proceeding into the room and jotting some notes on a notepad.

“What are you checking out exactly?” Yami asked, walking over to the man and trying to peer over the man’s shoulder. Damn his shortness.

“For hazardous things like explosive and sorts. These houses will be demolished soon after all.”

Yami froze on his spot. “W-what?” He whispered. The man shrugged the incredulous tone in Yami’s voice off. “Kaiba Corporation has finally gotten the land deed they wanted for so long. I think they were going to build an amusement park named Kaiba Land or World or something. The government rejected Kaiba Corporation the last couple years until suddenly they agreed to sell the deed a couple days ago.” The man answered, walking up the stairs.

Yami’s mouth got very dry. He swallowed as he sat back down on the couch. They were going to demolish Yuugi’s house? Where Yuugi was also buried? Tears started rolling down his cheeks for the umpteenth time since Yuugi left. He threw his head back and his eyes widened twice their size when he saw the answer for all his problems.

“That’s it.” He whispered to himself. Yami ran out the door, not caring if the man was still inside. Later that evening, he was back in the house. It was dark like always so he used the flashlight of his mobile phone to maneuver through the living room, into the basement.

It didn’t take him too long to find what he was looking for. He picked up the rope that Marik had tripped over and found Yuugi’s corpse with. Yami went back into the living room, placing the rope in an S shape. He had found an easy tutorial over how to tie one and was quite surprised at how simple it actually was.

He found a stool in the kitchen and put it on the coffee table in the living room. He stood on the stool, which wobbled slightly, as he tied the rope to the chandelier. With a couple harsh tugs, he checked if the chandelier was strong enough, and fortunately for him, it was.

Stepping off the stool, Yami placed the note in his pocket on the coffee table, near his back and the framed picture of Yuugi and his family. He stood back on the stool and gulped. About a week ago, he was so afraid, now it was all he wanted.

Yami put his head through the loop, holding onto the rope on both sides of his neck. This was it. With one deep breath, he kicked the stool away. The rope immediately tightened around his neck and the passage of air was cut off.

Fear kicked in as he decided that this was the worst idea he ever had in his entire life. He clawed at the coiled rope in hopes to loosen it but it was all in vain. His lungs were burning for air and his vision was already starting to swim. Black spots appeared before his eyes but Yami smiled, his fear suddenly forgotten.

_“At least I will be going the same way you did my love.”_

-o-o-o-o-o-

“Shocking news has once again reached our peaceful Domino. Local teenager Sennen Yami, has been found dead in one of the abandoned residents just outside the city.” The female news anchor said.

“That is correct. It has been confirmed that it was suicide. The teenager had hung himself and left a note to his loved once.” The male added.

“This teenager was the same that found the culprit who stole the Millennium Items. The police were puzzled over why the boy would end his life like that. According to the ones who knew Sennen-san, he had quite a good life, with good friends. The suicide note was quite vague they said.” The woman told.

Anzu had more tears running down her wrinkled cheeks after the news report. Just like the news anchors had told, Yami had indeed ended his own life. Jounouchi had found him in the abandoned house after the teenager wasn’t back for one whole day.

The blond was shocked and had fainted on the spot. Bakura, Marik and Ryou had found them later on, calling the police immediately. To their surprise, they saw a contended smile on the cold blue lips of their best friend. Ryou had picked up the note and read it out loud after Jounouchi came by.

_Dear friends of mine,_

_I know what I did was the most selfish thing one can do to his loved ones. But I just couldn’t anymore…._

_I heard that they were going to demolish his house, making me lose the little bits I had left of him. The last month had been really hard on me, with the robbing of my house, being betrayed by someone I trusted so much and finally my beloved leaving me…. No amount of apologies will be enough for the pain I will cause you all with my passing._

_Jounouchi, I am so, so sorry. You were the best friend one could wish for and I took you for granted. I know I have been neglecting you for this past month… but you stayed by my side when I needed you the most. Please forgive me Jounouchi… Yuugi had entrusted me with the Puzzle and I entrust it to you._

_Anzu-baachan… you are one more person I have to apologize to. You only gave and I only took. You gave me a roof under my head when I was kicked out. You fed me, you took care of me. All I did was lying to you and defy you. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?_

_Marik, Ishizu, Bakura and Ryou. Over the last month, we became even closer than before. To you I need to apologize as well. You guys did so much for me to help me achieve my goals. You, I can also never repay. (Also Marik and Ishizu, I apologize for witnessing what I did… that night)_

_As I said above, Jounouchi I give you the Puzzle. Marik, I want to give you the Egyptian God cards. I know how much you had wanted them. Ishizu, I can’t give you something of my own, I can however tell you that in the basement of Mutou Sugoroku’s house, there is his own personal collection of artifacts. It would be a waste if they got destroyed during the demolishing. Bakura and Ryou, to you I want to give you my house. See it as my wedding gift to you two guys when that day comes._

_Anzu-baachan, I am so sorry I can’t give you anything… once again I only take from you. I can tell you one thing however. Yuugi had never poisoned Sugoroku. The boy fell asleep after crying from the argument he had with his grandfather. Yamaoka had cooked the meal for Sugoroku, he told me this himself. When leaving, Sugoroku did not want to wake Yuugi up, which was why he couldn’t even say goodbye. Yuugi was stabbed and strangled that same night. I hope that now you can stop hating him and be at ease._

_I have one last request to ask of you. My last wish from you all, is to be buried at Domino cemetery, together with Yuugi. You can pay for it all with the money from my savings._

_I love you all and once again… I’m sorry._

_Sennen Yami._

The four friends had openly cried when Ryou was done reading. With Ishizu pulling some strings, they had brought Yuugi’s body to an undertaker, who had taken the half decomposed corpse without questioning it. Marik never realized how much power Ishizu had.

Since they were going to do a closed casket burial, the bodies were not embalmed.

Anzu sighed, looking at the picture of the deceases teenager. Of course she forgave the teenager. It just felt like she had lost one of her own grandchildren and it hurt. The doorbell rang, so she stood up and opened it. Outside stood Jounouchi, dressed in all black like herself, his eyes red and puffy.

“It’s time.” The teenager told her. She nodded and stepped inside the waiting car.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yami groaned as he opened his eyes. His throat hurt like hell and he was dehydrated. Something warm and heavy was on his chest but he chose to ignore it.

 _“Where am I?”_  He thought as he looked at his surroundings. The room was foreign to him. It had this delicious scent in the air that was unfamiliar to him and he felt oddly at peace.

“About time you woke up.” A voice said. The voice that was so precious to him. The voice he yearned to hear again. “Yuugi?!” Yami called out, frantically looking around the room.

“Down here.” The voice said in a giggle. Yami looked down and smiled brightly and the shimmering violet eyes looking up at him. For the first time, he could see them without tears. For the first time, he saw them happy. For the first time, he saw them alive.

“Yuugi!” Yami yelled, embracing the boy in such a tight hug. The boy laughed, his laughter sounding like bells, hugging the other male back. “I missed you so much.” Yami said, rocking them back and forth. “I missed you too… but Yami… what are you doing here?” Yuugi asked with concern.

Yami pulled back and looked at Yuugi a little disappointed. “You don’t sound too happy….”

Yuugi immediately shook his head. “No Yami, I am thrilled that you’re here, but why? You still had a whole life ahead of you. You didn’t have to end it so fast.” Yami looked down. “No I didn’t… after you left, I had nothing more to live for.” Then something came to his mind. “How did you know I ended it myself?” Yami asked.

“Those who commit suicide, go straight to hell. I pleaded them to allow you access. They wouldn’t have allowed it, until I told them what you did for me.” Yami’s eyes softened and he embraced the smaller again. “Thank you Yuugi.”

“The only thing is… your wings.” Yuugi said. Yami looked over his shoulders to see nothing. Then he looked at Yuugi’s back to see nothing as well. “What do you mean?” He asked confused. “Close your eyes and concentrate on your wings.” Yuugi instructed.

Yami nodded and did as Yuugi told him, the latter doing the same. He felt warmth and tugging at his shoulder blades. It wasn’t painful or anything, it actually felt quite good. He reopened his eyes to see Yuugi had already opened his. Behind him, were two gorgeous pure white wings, twice the size of the younger boy. “Wow.” Yami said breathless as he looked at the even more gorgeous boy.

Then he looked over his shoulder again. Instead of white wings, he had pitch black feathers. His were twice his own size like that of Yuugi’s. He twitched them a couple of times to see if they were real. “I’ll teach you later how to use them, for now, follow me.” Yuugi ordered, throwing the covers off of him.

Yami kind of had the mental image everything would be white. Not even the room was completely white. The walls were, but the floors were of cream colored fluffy carpet and the furniture was of mahogany wood. He also expected their clothes to be all white. But the boy was dressed in mint green shorts and a white and yellow striped short sleeved shirt. He still wore the dog collar he had passed away with. Yami’s eyes traveled lower and,

“You have feet.” He commented. Yuugi smiled and did a pirouette. “I missed them.” He laughed. Yami let out a chuckle or two as well. “I can imagine.” Yami stepped out as well. He was still dressed in the clothes he had died with. If he had known, he had put on something nicer.

“Where are we going?” Yami asked, taking Yuugi’s outstretched hand in his own. “I want to show you something.” Yuugi told, dragging him through the house and outside. Yami looked around, it looked almost like on Earth, except there were no cars and other transportation.

“Why are there no cars or busses Yuugi?” Yami asked, looking at the shorter. “Why would you need them if you never get tired?” Yuugi simply asked. Yami nodded, “I guess that makes sense.” Yuugi hummed in agreement and dragged him on.

They arrived at a pond in a park like place. Yuugi kneeled down by the bank and touched the surface with his fingers tips, closing his eyes.  The water rippled slightly and an image appeared. Yami kneeled next to Yuugi and watched the images the water played.

The people were all dressed in black. Some of the crying, some of the just looking down in grief. They were all his classmates. His teachers and the school’s principal had showed up as well. Even the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, Kaiba Seto was there. Why he was attending Yami’s funeral, Yami did not know. At the front were his four best friends; Jounouchi, Bakura, Ryou and Marik, Ishizu and Anzu. Those six were crying the hardest of them all. The double casket was being lowered in the large and deep grave.

Some of the started crying louder as well as the casket was being lowered deeper and deeper. They were mostly girls though. Bakura held Ryou as they cried, Marik was holding tightly to his sister and Jounouchi had found comfort in the arms of the elder lady.

Yuugi removed his hand from the water, making the image disappear. “They miss you already.” Yuugi said. Yami sighed, slumping down to the grassy ground.  “I know they do… but they all have something to live for.” Yami said. “They will cry over me for a couple weeks and then move on with their lives. If they remember me or forget me, I will not know.”

Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami’s neck after the other was done talking. “I’m sure they’ll never forget you. A person as handsome like you is very hard to forget.” Yuugi said, a blush creeping up his cheeks. This was also the first time he saw the smaller boy blush. Yami decided he liked to see Yuugi blushing.

“Now, let’s finish what we couldn’t that day.” Yami said huskily, wrapping his arms around Yuugi’s waste and pulling the boy towards him. Yuugi blushed, shouting out an ‘eeep’ when he fell on top of Yami. The taller male reached up and placed his lips upon Yuugi’s. For the first time, he could actually feel Yuugi. The lips of the smaller boy were warm and soft, instead of unreal and cold. Yami decided he also liked the feel of Yuugi’s lips on his. The kiss was completely chaste but full of love and devotion.

They pulled apart, both with a blush on their cheeks. “There are some people I want you to meet.” Yuugi said, smiling. He stood up and helped Yami stand as well. Once again, Yami was being dragged. They were back to the house Yami had first woken up in. Instead of that one, they entered the one next to it.

“Okaa-san, Otou-san, Jii-chan, Baa-chan!” He called out as he was inside. Four people made it to the living room where Yami and Yuugi stood. Yami recognized them as the people in the framed picture, except for the elder lady, who he assumed was Sugoroku’s wife.

“I would like you all to meet, Yami.” Yuugi introduced. The four adults smiled at him, knowing what he had done for their little Yuugi. “Why don’t you sit down?” Yuugi’s mother suggested. His father nodded. “We would like to get to know you as well.” He said with a smile. Yami shrugged his shoulders. As much as he wanted to be alone with Yuugi for a little while, he didn’t mind getting to know his family.

Yami took a seat on the couch, Yuugi sitting near him. He would take his time to get to know his parents. After all, he would have all eternity with the boy.

-o-o-o-o-o-

_R.I.P._

_Sennen Yami  
Mutou Yuugi_

_Even in death their love goes on_

Jounouchi smiled slightly as he put the framed picture of Yuugi and his family near the grave, next to Yami’s picture. A week had passed since Yami’s suicide, but he was over it. Sure, he missed his best friend dearly, but he knew, that the boy had finally found his eternal happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this. This is one of the longest chapters I have ever written.
> 
> I really hoped you people enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this!


	16. Kaiba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaiba is this close to realizing his dream, when he hears some disturbing news.

His fingers were a blur as they tapped on the keyboard in an incredible speed. There was so much work to be done. He had _finally_ gotten the deed of the land just outside the borders of Domino. His dream would finally be realized. Ever since he was a small child, he wanted to build an amusement park, one that would allow orphans in for free.

Kaiba Seto, having been an orphan himself, wanted nothing else than to make them happy. Something he never had the chance to. He got adopted, having to beat his stepfather in a game of chess in order to take his little brother along with him. From the first day the man had taken him in, he was driven to the brink of insanity. He had to study day and night, in order to take over KaibaCorp, the corporation his stepfather had started.

But he prevailed. He outsmarted the man and took over the company at the mere age of eleven. The man, not being able to live with the fact that he lost his company to a child, committed suicide. Seto didn’t mind at all. He continued working hard and here he was, with a finished plan to build the park.

Now all that was needed was it to be executed. He had written emails, made phone calls, and had several meetings with all the stakeholders of the project. He picked up the receiver as soon as the phone on his des rang.

“What is it?” He said, continuing to type with one hand.

_“Nii-sama… the plans of Kaiba Land have to be delayed….”_ His little brother’s voice said a little timidly on the other end of the line. Seto dropped the receiver as he just heard what his little brother said. He quickly shook his head to recompose himself and picked up the receiver, which had fallen on his desk.

“What did you say Mokuba?” He demanded. He mentally chastised himself as he just knew his little brother cringed from the tone he had spoken.

“A teenager c-committed s-suicide.” The younger boy stuttered.

Kaiba’s eyes widened as he stood up, the force throwing his chair back. “Cancel all of my appointments. I am going there now.” He said and hung up without waiting for a reply. In the elevator he notified the driver of his limousine that he was coming, so the sleek black car was already waiting and ready to go in front of the KaibaCorp building.

“To the construction site.” He ordered. The chauffeur nodded and started towards the destination.

The police and an ambulance were already there when he stepped out of the car. The entrance to the house it had happened in was closed off by police tape. Outside were four crying teenagers, one crying elder woman and one crying young woman.

He marched over to the female officer shaking her head sadly just outside the door. “What happened?” He demanded. The officer gasped as she now noticed the intimidating aura of the CEO.

“Kaiba-sama!” She exclaimed surprised. “A teenager has committed suicide in this house.” Shetold, standing up straight. Kaiba rolled his eyes. “I gathered that much. What happened _exactly_?”

“We don’t know either…. One of his friends called and we rushed over. He has left a note, which is quite vague. He has hung himself on a chandelier.” Kaiba nodded as he took it all in. “Where is the body?” He asked. “They should be taking him out soon.” She said.

As if on cue, the paramedics walked out with a gurney, covered in a white sheet. Kaiba’s eyes doubled in size as he saw the size of the teenager lying on it. The boy hadn’t even had his growth spurt yet! He was pushed into the ambulance and it rode away. The crying of the six people got louder as the car drove away with what he assumed was their friend and/or family member.

“Let me see the note.” He demanded. The female office was again startled at the sudden demand and went in to fetch the note. Seto ignored the tape and walked in as well. There were two more officers in there and one detective.

After discussing with the detective, the female officer had permission to show the note to Kaiba. He had gotten to know that the boy had some hardships this last month, one of them losing someone he held dear. He swallowed the lump in his throat at the thought of Mokuba dying.

The last part got him confused though. Just exactly who was this Yuugi? He had already figured out that this Yuugi was probably the _beloved_ he lost as he wrote at the beginning. What he did not understand, was the part about the murders written on it. It appears like that had baffled the detective too because he wasn’t looking too happy.

The thing that broke the boy was that the house was being demolished. He felt a pang in his chest as he realized that he had some sort of blame for the debt of the young man. If he wasn’t going to build Kaiba Land… the boy might’ve lived.  He bit the insides of his cheek, his nervous habit, something he hadn’t done since he was ten years old.

He decided that he would make sure that the boy got his last wish. If his savings were not enough, he would pay for the rest. He handed the note back to the detective, trusting his photographic memory to remember the note. He would look into this matter himself, not trusting the incompetent police officers and detectives.

“Since this is my property, I allow this ‘Ishizu’ person to look into the basement and take whatever she likes.” He told the detective and officers. His authoritative voice left no place for argument, which he even didn’t wait for as he left the house. He looked quickly around the house and found the fake plastic tombstone in the garden.

Like he said, incompetent officers. He dared to bet his company that they hadn’t even seen this. The words scribbled on it with black marker confused him even more than before. “Murdered a long time ago, unable to rest, until he was saved, may he find happiness in passing?” Kaiba recited.

He already figured out that this boy had been involved with some unusual stuff. He walked back to the crying people. “My condolence.” He said as he bowed his head to show respect. He walked back to his limousine when Jounouchi suddenly growled.

“You think you can just march in here and say you’re sorry? This is your entire fault!” The blond boy snarled with tears in his eyes. Kaiba cringed at the harsh words the friend of the boy threw at him. How could he have known that this was going to happen?! He swallowed his pride, knowing he had a temper, and continued walking into the limousine. If he were to go into a discussion with a mourning person, it would not do well for his reputation.

“To Domino High.” He ordered the driver.

At the school, he dug up some more information about the boy. His grades were mediocre, but they were still good enough to get into a decent university. He was well loved by his classmates and had some very good friends. _‘That blond boy.’_ Kaiba noted as the principle told him about Yami.

He also learned more about the boy’s situation. About how he was robbed and that he was forced to live with an adult until he was an adult himself. About how Yami was an orphan. That irking feeling in his chest got worse by the minute.

Back at his company, he dug up some about the people mentioned in the note. He didn’t have to about his friends for he got enough at the principal’s. He got to know that Ishizu worked at the museum in Domino and that Anzu was retired and took Yami in when he was thrown out.

The following day, he went to the museum, in hope that Ishizu was in. Just as he wanted to knock on the door, she opened it, ready to go to the house to check on the things left by Sugoroku.

“Kaiba-san, what are you doing here?” She asked. Her voice was incredibly tired, her eyes red and puffy with black bags underneath. “I want to talk.” He said. The woman nodded and stepped aside, letting Kaiba in.

“What is it you want to talk about?” She asked. “About Yami.” Kaiba said. Ishizu’s eyes watered at the mention of his name. “I apologize, it must be hard to talk about it. I understand if you don’t want to.” He said and stood up.

“No, no, it’s alright. I can manage.” She said. Seto sat down again. Ishizu chuckled sadly. “Do you believe in the supernatural Kaiba-san?” She asked. Kaiba frowned at the question but shook his head. “Then you will refuse to accept that he had fallen in love with a ghost.”

Seto’s jaw dropped at the claim the woman had made. Ishizu chuckled again. “That look doesn’t suit you Kaiba-san.” Seto snapped his mouth back shut. “Come again?” He said. Ishizu sighed, her elbows on her desk, her fingers intertwined and her chin resting on them. “It all started from a dare from my foolish little brother and their other friend Bakura….” Ishizu started.

He could absolutely not believe what he was hearing. Yami had really fallen in love with a ghost? Either this boy had been crazy or he was going crazy. “I know it’s hard to comprehend all this. I couldn’t really believe it myself at first.” She sighed. “Now all I can think about is how I’m going to ask the undertaker to dig up some long dead person and bury him with Yami.”

Kaiba abruptly stood up. “Thank you for telling me.” He said and walked out of the office. Ishizu just watched him leave. He did not show any signs of believing it. She didn’t even know _why_ she told him all this. She stood up as well, going to the house with a team to salvage whatever they can.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was past midnight as Kaiba got into his car. He did not want to involve his chauffeur with what he was about to do. He frankly couldn’t even believe himself what he was doing. With a shovel in the trunk, he drove to the house.

He also could not believe that in that house murder and suicide took place in that house. What next? An Indian burial ground? But then again… Indians never lived in Japan. Argh! He was digressing! Seto gripped the steering wheel tighter to stay focused.

He parked the car in front of the house and took the shovel out of the trunk. He gulped as he walked to the tombstone. He stuck the shovelhead into the still soft dirt and started digging. His shovel hit something soft and he stopped. Seto got down and started dusting the dirt away rather than digging.  
And there it was. Rolled up in only a blanket.

Seto’s hands flew to cover up his nose as the smell hit him. He hoped they had at least buried him in some kind of box or something! If he had known he would’ve brought air refreshers with him. He tentatively picked the body up and laid it in the backseats.

Great. Now he would have to redo the interior of his car. He turned the air conditioning up as high as it could, despite the cold air outside.

Carrying the bundled up cadaver with him, he walked into the clinic of the undertaker. “Why did you want to see me, Kaiba-sama?” The mas asked tiredly. It was obvious he didn’t want to be here at the moment.

“You are in charge of Sennen Yami, correct?” Kaiba asked, laying the bundle on the black couch in the funeral home. The mortician walked up to the bundle and looked questioningly at Kaiba.

“I want Yami to be buried with him.” Kaiba said, pointing to the rolled up corpse. He fished out a folded piece of paper from his coat’s pocket. “Ask no questions, just do it. You will receive the other half after the funeral.” He said as he handed the man the piece of paper.

The undertaker unfolded the piece of paper and his eyes bulged out. “W-was that all?” He asked, not believing the number on the check. Or the fact that this was only _half_ what he was getting.

“There are just a couple of small things. First of all, a woman by the name of Ishizu will come asking if he–” Kaiba said, pointing at Yuugi, “can be buried along with Yami. Just say yes and say that your men will dig him up and take care of everything. Just charge some sort of fee for that service so it won’t be suspicious. Never mention that I have anything to do with it. Understood?”

The funeral director just nodded. “Good. I will be on my way then.” He said and left the funeral house.

Like Kaiba had said, the woman came the following day. She asked the question with a desperate tone, that the undertaker was happy to say yes. Like his instructions, he told everything would be taken care of and the woman looked so happy.

He went from the display room to the preparation room, where Yami was already on mortuary table. Even though it was decided that they were going to have a closed casket burial, it was out of respect that they set the features. He undressed the boy first, covering his genitals with a modesty cloth and began the embalming.

When he was done, including dressing the boy and applying the make-up, the undertaker shook his head in pity. The boy looked so peaceful, it was really sad that he had ended his own life. His eyes strayed to the decomposing body Kaiba had brought in. He had put it in a body bag and it was currently being refrigerated.

“I wonder what stories you both had to tell.” He said looking back at Yami. The boy had been dressed in his school uniform, to show that he was very young when he died and Yuugi he dressed in some more casual clothing, putting the pajama’s he was wearing near his feet in the coffin.

He had laid them next to each other in the double coffin the friends had picked out. It was a little too big since the boy’s weren’t too big but it would do.

Just before the funeral, Kaiba demanded to see the coffin, to see if the undertaker had truly listened to what he has said. The funeral director opened the casket so he could see. But before Kaiba got a good look, the director dropped the lid and jumped back.

“What’s wrong?” He asked annoyed.

“T-the corpses… t-they’re not h-how I p-put them!” He stuttered. Kaiba frowned at him and opened the lid himself. Yami was lying on his with his right arm next to him and his left arm under Yuugi’s body, while the other was lying on his side with his left arm draped over Yami’s waist. His skeletal fingers were clutching the blue fabric of his school uniform.

Kaiba gulped and closed the lid of the coffin. “I’m sure there is an explanation for that. The bodies probably moved during transportation.” He said. For once in his life, he wasn’t confident. “I am starting to believe Ishizu’s story.” He muttered to himself.

After the funeral, the woman approached him. “Thank you.” Was all she said before leaving. Kaiba just blinked. Had she already figured out it was him that ensured the inclusion of Yuugi? He shrugged his shoulders. He did his best to fulfill Yami’s last wishes, his chest already felt lighter.

After the woman left, the blond boy approached him. He just stood there and scratched his neck in sheepishness. Seto raised an eyebrow for him to continue. “Look… I wanted to apologize for screaming at you… that day.” He started. “When I found him I just fainted and my emotions were all jumbled up.” He said.

Kaiba nodded, accepting the apology. “Again, my condolence.” He said. “Thanks… did you know why he did it?” Jounouchi asked, taking out the puzzle from his bag. “He lost his beloved.” Kaiba answered. Jounouchi nodded in confirmation. “But that is not all. You see, that house was the only thing he had left that reminded him of Yuugi. Yuugi actually left him this.” He said holding out the puzzle. “But I immediately knew Yami hated it.”

Seto took the puzzle from Jounouchi and inspected it. That was one complex puzzle. He hated to admit it, but even _he_ would have trouble solving it. “How come?” He asked, intrigued by the object. “It was the puzzle’s fault Yuugi left. Ishizu had already told us that she told you. The house was where he first met Yuugi, where he first kissed Yuugi and where he buried Yuugi. How you kiss a ghost, I really don’t know. Yami was crazy like that.” Jounouchi said with a chuckle, reminiscing the more pleasant memories he had of his best friend.

“I see. When my company wanted to demolish the house….” Kaiba trailed off, the heavy feeling on his chest returning.

“Was his breaking point.” Jounouchi finished with a sad nod. Kaiba returned the puzzle to the teenager. “Thank you for everything.” Jounouchi suddenly said. Kaiba was taken aback. Had the blond figured it out as well?

“Look, I might be goofy sometimes but I’m not dumb. Don’t worry though, Ishizu and I are the only one who know.” He said with a smile. Kaiba was slightly flustered, another first, and turned his back without saying anything.

As he was in his limousine back to his company, a smile graced his face.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The next day, he returned to the grave, flowers in hand. He laid the blue carnations against the gravestone and just stood there in silence for a few minutes.

“You better be happy in the afterlife.” He demanded. He smiled slightly again. “I really hope you do.” He said more softly. Today the demolishing of the old houses started. He had made sure that that house was the last one to go.

He would surely invite the friends of the two boys to the opening of his park. This whole situation had made him consider the haunted house of his park. It would be about a boy, falling in love with a ghost. And he would call it:

Yuurei Yashiki no Korosare Shounen.  
_  
The murdered boy of the haunted house_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written later after someone asked me why Kaiba had attended Yami's funeral.


End file.
